The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on August 6 issued a report accusing the Chadian government of serious human rights violations during demonstrations at Koro-Toro prison, provoking the anger of the authorities, who spoke of “false information.”
Accused of having thirsted and exhausted the demonstrators of 20 October 2022 during their transfer to Koro-Toro prison, the Chadian government reacted on 8 August through its spokesman, Abderaman Koulamallah, the government rejected the Human Rights Watch accusations outright.
“I am somewhat surprised by these allegations, which we consider to be completely untrue. The people who were arrested enjoyed all their rights. They were transferred in humane, acceptable conditions and none of those transferred died during the journey,” Abderaman Koulamallah told Radio France international (RFI).
In its report Pire que l’Enfer: mort et torture à la prison de Koro-Toro’ (Worse than hell: death and torture at Koro-Toro prison), the international human rights organisation stated that it had documented 11 cases of death linked to thirst and exhaustion during the transfer of alleged demonstrators to Koro-Toro.
This was vigorously denied by the government spokesman.
“I listened to Human Rights Watch’s completely off-the-wall comments when they said that people drank their own urine and were deprived of water. It’s completely absurd. When you cross desert areas like that, it’s impossible to have urine if you don’t have water,” he said.
For the government spokesman, even during wars against rebels, such
treatment has never been inflicted on prisoners. “Our army does not
engage in this kind of practice. Our army could never do that, nor our
religious convictions, nor our political convictions. These are gratuitous assertions,’’ insists Abderaman Koulamallah.
The spokesman added that the government would be opening an investigation to counter these allegations.
“The comments made are completely defamatory and unacceptable to our government. We are going to conduct our own investigation and bring in witnesses who will not corroborate these completely false allegations. We reserve the right to prosecute them for distilling false information and slander against the government,” Abderaman Koulamallah said.
CA/ac/Sf/fss/GIK/APA