Amnesty International Report 1999 - Togo

TOGO

Hundreds of people were extrajudicially executed by the security forces. Scores of people, including refugees extradited from Ghana, opposition supporters, students and journalists were detained without charge or trial. Torture and ill-treatment continued to be widespread. Harsh prison conditions amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. One person "disappeared".

In October a law forbidding female genital mutilation was passed by the National Assembly.

President Gnassingbe Eyadéma, leader of the Rassemblement du peuple togolais (RPT), Assembly of the Togolese People, faced five challengers in presidential elections held in June. President Eyadéma, in power since 1967, was re-elected for another five years, but there were serious doubts over the fairness of the elections. European Union observers criticized the outcome. The run-up to the elections was marked by arrests and intimidation of supporters of the main opposition parties by the security forces.

Hundreds of people – both unarmed civilians and soldiers – were extrajudicially executed by the security forces before and after the presidential elections. Bodies of victims, some handcuffed, were found in the sea and on beaches in both Togo and Benin, reportedly after being dropped from aeroplanes and helicopters. At least three victims were reportedly beaten to death by soldiers and their bodies left on the streets of Lomé, the capital.

Armed RPT supporters, acting with the security forces, were responsible for terrorizing and harassing members of opposition political parties, particularly in Afagnan, the Yoto and Atakpamé. In the Yoto, Mathieu Kegbe Koffi, a representative of the opposition Comité d'action pour le renouveau (CAR), Action Committee for Renewal, was killed in September in front of his family by an armed group, including RPT supporters and men in uniform.

Scores of people, including Togolese refugees extradited from Ghana, opposition party supporters, students and journalists were detained without charge or trial during the year. They included prisoners of conscience.

In January, nine refugees, including Kove Sossouvi Komlan and Seke Akouete, were handed over by the Ghanaian authorities to the Togolese authorities who accused them of theft. One, Nutsukpi Attiso, died in custody as a result of lack of medical care. At the end of the year, the others were still held without charge in Kara prison. An asylum-seeker sent back to Togo from Germany was arrested on his arrival in January and held in a secret detention centre, from where he escaped in September.

In January police arrested at least 11 students and seriously injured several after a protest demonstration. After more than 10 days' detention, the students were released without charge on the instructions of President Eyadéma.

Scores of people were arrested before and after the June elections. Two representatives of the CAR, Adjiba Kossi and Okouta Biayeva Antoine, were arrested in Atakpamé and held without charge until mid-July. Oladokou Olabode, who was arrested at about the same time, remained in detention without charge or trial at the end of the year. One week after the elections, three members of the opposition Parti pour la démocratie et le renouveau (PDR) Party for Democratic Renewal, including Boukary Seydou, were arrested at Badou, Wawa district. They were taken to Lomé, then released after interrogation.

In July scores of opposition party supporters were arrested after a protest march and leaflet distribution by the Union des forces de changement (UFC), Union of the Forces for Change. Some were released without charge or trial after a few days, others were tried and sentenced to prison terms, and others were still held without charge at the end of the year. Kodjo Gbadogbe, a UFC supporter, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment. Two others, Atsu Abaya and Attiogbe Sassou, were charged with distributing leaflets. They were prisoners of conscience. They were released in December, but a few days later they were summoned by the tribunal. They were in hiding at the end of the year.

In August Kouni Kodjo, a painter, and Edoh Komlan, a student, were arrested in Adidogomé, near the border with Ghana. At the end of the year, they were still held without charge or trial and had been denied family visits. They were possible prisoners of conscience.

Two army officers – Dr Abony Koffi and Lieutenant Gnassenou – were arrested in August and November respectively and accused of supporting the opposition. They were still held without charge in the gendarmerie at the end of the year.

In September at least 11 prisoners of conscience including Gaï Yao, a student, and Badjagbo Adjovi, were arrested by the security forces in Afagnan and later transferred to Aného prison. They were held without charge for two weeks.

In October, three prisoners of conscience, including Masseme Kodjo and Adoyi Komlan, arrested in October 1997 were sentenced to one year's imprisonment, then released as they had already spent one year in detention.

Numerous journalists and newspaper editors were arrested during the year. In August Pamphile Gnimassou, editor-in-chief of Abito, and Augustin Assiogbo and Elias Hounkali of Tingo-Tingo were arrested for "attacking the honour" of the presidential couple. In November Edoh Amenouhou, a journalist at Le Nouveau Combat was arrested in connection with the same case. Augustin Assiogbo and Pamphile Gnimassou were released without charge or trial after a few days but the other journalists were still in detention at the end of the year. Appolinaire Mewenemesse, editor-in-chief of La Dépêche, was detained without charge from October to December following a defamation complaint lodged by the Minister of Defence.

In November new information came to light about detainees, including possible prisoners of conscience, arrested in previous years. Alowou Kokou and Marc Atidépé, arrested in 1993 on suspicion of being rebels, were still held without charge in Lomé civil prison and Kara prison. Paul and Pierre Hooper, two trade unionists arrested in 1995 and sentenced to prison terms were still detained in Lomé civil prison; they were prisoners of conscience. Dr. Gandi, a human rights activist, and several people arrested with him in 1997 were still awaiting trial.

The security forces ill-treated people who peacefully protested against the results of the presidential elections in different parts of the country, notably in Afagnan, Notsè and the capital. In August the security forces attacked and burned the homes of some opposition leaders. In the course of these attacks, civilians including women and children were severely beaten with rifle butts, batons and military belts; some were seriously injured.

Torture and ill-treatment of both political detainees and criminal suspects by the security forces remained routine. Detainees were frequently stripped, handcuffed and beaten. Many were held in overcrowded cells, provided with insufficient food and denied sanitary facilities. All nine refugees handed over by Ghana to the Togolese authorities were tortured in Lomé civil prison and severely beaten when they arrived at Kara prison. Nyableji John, also known as Django, was reportedly compelled to eat sand in Lomé civil prison. Political activists arrested after the presidential election were beaten on the head, buttocks and feet. Detainees were reportedly tied on a table and were beaten with sticks, cables and military belts by members of the security forces. Relatives stated that some prisoners were covered with scars and that some had swollen faces.

Prison conditions throughout the country, and particularly in Lomé civil prison, remained extremely harsh and amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Severe deficiencies in food, sanitation, and medical care resulted in a high mortality rate. Seriously ill prisoners were denied medical treatment. Adossi Kokouvi, who was arrested in January, died in April as a result of medical neglect.

In August Djiewone Adjisse Essie "disappeared" from the gendarmerie where he was detained after his arrest at Yokoe.

Amnesty International delegates visited Togo and met government ministers, judicial and security officials. The delegates also met leaders of the opposition, human rights activists and representatives of international organizations. In talks with the authorities, Amnesty International raised concerns about extrajudicial executions and "disappearances", the detention of prisoners of conscience, widespread torture and impunity. One minister acknowledged that a "rebel" had been extra-judicially executed, but the authorities denied the other concerns, particularly arbitrary arrests of prisoners of conscience followed by torture. In a meeting with the Minister of Defence, his French military adviser denied the possibility that aeroplanes and helicopters of the Togolese armed forces had been used to drop bodies into the sea.