Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling for the closure of the Koro-Toro high-security prison, built in the Chadian desert 600 km from the capital and notorious for its poor detention conditions.
In a 94-page report published on August 6, HRW documented in detail the detention of those arrested during the events of October 20, 2022.
Titled “Worse than Hell: Death and Torture in Chad’s Koro Toro Prison,” the report highlights the conditions of detention at the prison, located 600 kilometers from the capital.
The international human rights organisation relied on testimony from former inmates of this prison.
It interviewed 150 people, including 71 adults and one minor.
The investigations, completed in June 2023, led to the drafting of the report, which was published on August 6, 2024.
Based on these testimonies, the report describes how and under what conditions the October 20 demonstrators were arrested, then transferred and detained at Koro-Toro.
Eleven dead
HRW says serious human rights violations occurred during these various stages. Beatings and other ill-treatment during arrest, forced transfer, dehydration, and forced labor are just some of the violations highlighted in the report.
Eleven people died from mistreatment during the journey and shortly after arriving at Koro-Toro prison, the organisation said.
“People drank their own urine. They begged their own brothers for their urine,” a former detainee told Human Rights Watch.
The Koro-Toro maximum-security prison has two sections, a mile and a half apart. The first block was built under President Hissein Habré. The second was built under Idriss Déby Itno. Hence the names Koro-Toro 1 (Hissein Habré) and Koro-Toro 2 (Idriss Déby Itno).
Human Rights Watch describes Koro-Toro 1 block as an old-fashioned prison with dilapidated buildings, no doors, overcrowding, inadequate food, and a lack of basic medical care, based on descriptions by former inmates.
Life inside Koro-Toro 1 is run by inmates believed to be or affiliated with the terrorist group Boko Haram.
“The soldiers have given them de facto authority to abuse other prisoners,” former inmates said.
Harassment for minor violations of prison rules is widespread. In its recommendations, the organisation calls on the government to “immediately close Koro-Toro 1 prison, which is proving to be unsuitable for holding prisoners.
On the other hand, it calls for the renovation of Koro-Toro 2 so that it can house prisoners in good conditions.
The organisation insists on compliance with the standards set out in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the “Nelson Mandela Rules”.
With regard to human rights violations, Human Rights Watch urges the government to suspend the application of the general amnesty for all members of the security forces involved in abuses against people who participated in the October 20, 2022 protests.
CA/Sf/te/lb/as/APA