Djibouti: 8-Month Suspended Sentence for Participating in a Peaceful Opposition Rally
On 25 June 2015, Alkarama contacted the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (SR FRDX) regarding the arrest of three supporters of the opposition coalition and of the Auditor General of the Djiboutian League for Human Rights (LDDH), which took place during a peaceful rally in Djibouti City on 6 June 2015. Detainees were subjected to ill-treatment during the first few days of their detention, and a few days later were sentenced to an eight-month prison term before eventually being released.
On 6 June 2015, the opposition coalition, the National Salvation Union (USN), called for a peaceful rally in Djibouti City in preparation of the return of Nima Djama Miguil, a popular singer advocating against Djiboutian rule, who had gone into exile in Canada five years previous. Many sympathizers took part in the peaceful demonstration, and while they were calmly leaving the place of demonstration, some police officers intervened on Avenue Nelson Mandela and violently arrested eight people, including two minors, as well as the four following persons: Mako Waiss Bouh, Hasna Ahmed Ibrahim, Habado Chirdon Dougsieh, all aged between 40 and 55, and Faisal Mohamed Ibrahim, aged 26.
They were taken to the police station where they remained detained incommunicado for 48 hours, not allowed to be assisted by a lawyer, or to contact their families. Bludgeoned and beaten by the police, they were also submitted to psychological torture. After two days of incommunicado detention, the four victims were transferred to Gabode prison, a notorious lawless area known for practicing torture and for its appalling detention conditions.
Brought before the court of flagrant offenses on June 9, they were convicted, without the presence of a lawyer, to eight months in prison for "participating in an illegal demonstration" and "causing public unrest" during a trial in which the Court did not take into consideration the abuses they had been subjected to, thus further institutionalising impunity for the Djiboutian security regarding their practice of torture.
The convictions of these four people and the abuses they were submitted to are not isolated events in Djibouti, where political opponents and human rights activists live under the constant threat of the authorities, who do not hesitate in carrying out arrests and arbitrary detentions, during which the security forces often perpetrate ill-treatment with total impunity. In fact, civil society and the opposition do not enjoy a space for dialogue, where they could perform their activities independently.
In view of the facts, Alkarama sought the intervention of SR FRDX, asking him to intervene with the authorities so that they annul the convictions against the four victims. Djibouti authorities must stop the constant harassment of those who dare criticise them and guarantee their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified by the country in 2002.
For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008)