COMOROS: UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention seized again of the case of former president, Ahmed SAMBI
"I am not afraid of justice but of injustice", wrote the former President of the Comoros, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Abdallah Sambi, in a letter addressed to President Azali Assoumani, to underline a legal situation that is unprecedented in the history of Comorian justice. On February, 22nd, 2022, this situation was denounced again to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) by Alkarama in the context of the follow-up procedure of this case.
As a recall, the former president had been arrested on 18 May 2018 as he was leaving the weekly prayer at the Moroni mosque. At the end of the religious service, supporters of the former president gathered around him and then chanted slogans hostile to the incumbent president. The day after, Mr. Sambi was placed under house arrest in the capital.
Alkarama had first submitted his case to the Working Group on 19 May 2018 and obtained an opinion that Mr. Sambi's assignment was arbitrary under categories I and II of the categories established by the Working Group.
In a second communication dated 24 March 2021 and in response to the refusal of the Comorian authorities to implement the Opinion of the experts, Alkarama had sent, in vain, an urgent appeal to the WGAD in order to obtain the release of Mr. Sambi in accordance with the Opinion previously issued.
For almost four years, Mr. Sambi has never been heard by a judge and has been deprived of his right to challenge the legality of his detention. According to the Comorian authorities, including the former Minister of Justice, Mr. Sambi's detention is "unlimited".
Interviewed by Alkarama, the daughter of the former head of state, Madame Tisslame Sambi, stated that her father is the victim of a "procedure that is more political than judicial". Then, she underlined with fear the desire of the Comorian authorities to detain him for life.
These worries seem well-founded given the statements of the Comorian Minister of Justice who had stated unambiguously that "in accordance with the law, the detention warrant of the former president is unlimited. The judiciary has the right to detain as long as necessary an alleged perpetrator of misappropriation of public property”.
Alkarama refers again the case to the Working Group
In a communication dated 22 February 2022, Alkarama addressed to the UN Working Group to demand the implementation of the Opinion issued in order to obtain the release of the former president.
Today, the arbitrary deprivation of the former president constitutes a threat to his physical integrity and health. For almost four years, Mr. Sambi has been illegally prevented from receiving visits from his family and lawyers. His family has been informed that his health is deteriorating due to lack of adequate care.
Concerned by Mr. Sambi's situation, Alkarama has once again called the Working Group's experts to urge the Comorian authorities to comply with the Opinion and thus to release, without delay, Mr. Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed SAMBI, who has been arbitrarily detained without trial for almost four years.