Amnesty International Report 2002 - Central African Republic

Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2002 - Central African Republic, -, 28 May 2002, https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/amnesty/2002/23104 [accessed 05 July 2026]
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Covering events from January-December 2001

Central African Republic
Head of state: Ange-Félix Patassé
Head of government: Martin Ziguélé
Capital: Bangui
Population: 3.8 million
Official Language: French
Death penalty: abolitionist in practice
2001 treaty ratifications/signatures: Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Following a coup attempt in May, the human rights situation deteriorated. Hundreds of people were extrajudicially executed. Scores of detainees, many of whom were prisoners of conscience, were unlawfully detained. Some detainees were tortured and ill-treated in police and gendarmerie cells. Tens of thousands of people fled from the violence to neighbouring countries. Freedom of the press and freedom of assembly were restricted. At least two people were sentenced to death. No executions were reported.

Background

A failed coup took place on 28 May, reportedly led by General André Kolingba, former Head of State from 1981 to 1993, leader of the main opposition party and a member of the Yakoma ethnic group. In the weeks following, Bangui became the scene of considerable violence as government forces loyal to President Ange-Félix Patassé regained control with the support of troops from Libya, other foreign governments and an armed opposition group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Mouvement pour la libération du Congo (MLC), Movement for the Liberation of the Congo.

Soldiers suspected of being involved in the coup attempt, and civilians from the Yakoma ethnic group suspected of supporting them, were summarily executed. The government subsequently said that human rights violations had been carried out by uncontrollable members of the security forces. No one was brought to justice for these violations. In August, a judicial commission of inquiry was established by the government to investigate killings of members of the armed forces and civilians by the soldiers involved in the coup attempt. Those killed included General François Bédaya N'Djadder and other members of the presidential guard. There was no investigation into killings by government and allied forces.

Fighting erupted again in Bangui in early November, when army chief General François Bozize was dismissed and government troops tried to arrest him for alleged coup plotting. He was banned from speaking to the news media and the church of which he was a leading member was shut down by the authorities. He and his supporters subsequently fled to Chad. During the fighting civilians, including women and children, were reportedly killed by stray bullets and shrapnel.

Extrajudicial executions

Hundreds of unarmed civilians and Yakoma soldiers suspected of involvement in the coup attempt were unlawfully killed and extrajudicially executed during and after the coup attempt. Others were killed in the following weeks as they returned to their places of work after the coup attempt at the request of the authorities. Occasional extrajudicial executions were continuing at the end of 2001.

  • On 30 May the nine-year-old nephew and two other relatives of Théophile Touba, a Yakoma former member of parliament and university professor, were reportedly killed by members of the Presidential Guard. On 31 May, Théophile Touba was arrested by the Presidential Guard and accused of involvement in planning the coup attempt. On 1 June his body, showing signs of torture, was found in front of President Patassé's official residence.
  • A Yakoma teacher at the University of Bangui, Evrard Wanguia-Bickot, his 18-year-old son, Romaric Wangui-Bickot, and his 30-year-old cousin, Olivier Kongbeya, were reportedly shot dead by Presidential Guards on 6 June as Evrard Wanguia-Bickot was returning to Bangui after having fled.
  • On 12 June, two gendarmes, Patrice Igawe Ngobetene and Zoe-Virginie Yembimon, who was said to have been pregnant, and a gendarmerie captain – all Yakoma – were reportedly killed by Presidential Guards when they returned to work.
Detentions and ill-treatment

Political detainees were subjected to ill-treatment throughout the year.
  • Abdoulaye Aboukary Tembeley, a leading human rights defender, was arrested in February after criticizing President Patassé in a newspaper article and allegedly beaten severely at the National Gendarmerie headquarters.
By late September more than 100 civilians and military personnel had been detained on the recommendations of the commission of inquiry investigating killings of members of the armed forces in the coup attempt. Most had not been charged or tried by the end of 2001. Many of those arrested, who included lawyers, priests and other prominent figures, appeared to be prisoners of conscience detained solely on account of their ethnic identity. Detainees were held in police and gendarmerie cells in harsh and overcrowded conditions.
  • Jean-Jacques Demafouth, Minister of Defence at the time of the coup attempt, was arrested on 26 August and accused of involvement in the coup plot. He was still detained, incommunicado and without charge or trial, at the end of 2001.
  • In September Zarambaud Assingambi, a lawyer, was reportedly beaten in the street by police officers, apparently in connection with an article he had written for the newspaper Le Citoyen questioning the legitimacy of the commission of inquiry. He was detained without charge for three months, and was released on 12 December.
  • Serge Wafio, First Vice-President of the National Assembly, was detained in early November. He continued to be detained without charge at the end of the year.
Refugees

Some 30,000 mostly Yakoma civilians and members of the armed forces fled to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo and northern Republic of the Congo to escape reprisals following the coup attempt. In July, the government closed the border in an attempt to prevent fleeing soldiers using territory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a base for rebel military activity.

Most refugees were without basic humanitarian assistance and at risk of malnutrition and exposure for more than six months. In December, despite continuing human rights violations and insecurity, the government started preparations to repatriate refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Death penalty

Two men were sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering the Libyan Ambassador in August 2000. The sentence was confirmed in September by the Court of Cassation.

No executions took place.

AI country reports/visits

Statement
  • Central African Republic: Government should stop all extrajudicial executions (AI Index: AFR 19/005/2001)

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