AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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Throughout the year, MFDC gunmen or suspected MFDC gunmen committed numerous
killings. For example, in March suspected MFDC insurgents attacked a
group of civilian vehicles 4 kilometers from the town of Diouloulou, near the Gambian
border in the Bignona region of the Casamance and killed seven civilians and
wounded four. In a government military sweep following this attack, the military
killed several suspected MFDC insurgents, although exact figures were not available.
In October suspected MFDC gunmen opened fire on a taxi in Diabang killing
three civilian passengers.
Unlike in previous years, vigilante groups and mobs did not lynch suspected
thieves.
b. Disappearance.—There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances
during the year; however, there remained several unsolved cases of disappearance
from previous years.
According to Amnesty International, on April 2, 2000, Moise Diatta, a hotel employee
in the Cap Skirring area of Ziguinchor region, was arrested at his house by
government security forces and has not been seen since. According to Amnesty, his
wife was called in by a Ziguinchor examining magistrate in June 2001 and interrogated
about her missing husband’s activities during the tourism off-season. There
were no reports of further government action on this case.
Amnesty also reported that during the night of March 29, 2000 residents near the
Ziguinchor military camp Joher heard cries from Antoine Nyafouna, a resident of
the town of Caleane, near Nyassia, who was apparently being beaten by security
forces. Nyafouna has not been seen since. There have been no reports of progress
in the Government investigation.
Amnesty also reported that Ziguinchor resident Ephreme Diatta was last seen in
the custody of security forces at the Gendarmerie in Cabrousse in April 2000, and
has not been seen since. There were no reports of a government investigation into
this case.
According to Amnesty International, in March 2000, government security forces
in Kabrousee arrested Jean Dacougna, a 40-year-old man with mental disabilities.
The man remained unaccounted for and there were no reports of a government investigation
into this case.
In September 1999, a group of Casamance professionals helped family members
of two missing persons, Alexis Etienne Diatta and Jean Diandy, file legal complaints
against security forces for abduction. The families of both Diatta and Diandy had
reported the disappearances in August 1998 to civilian authorities, who were unsuccessful
in finding either person. In response to inquiries by Amnesty, the Government
reportedly stated that the Diandy case was closed due to lack of evidence in
November 2000. According to Amnesty, Diandy’s family had not been informed of
this decision. The Government reportedly delegated the case to the criminal police
in February 2000; however there were no reports of progress in the case.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.—
The Constitution prohibits such treatment; however, there were credible reports
that police and gendarmes often beat suspects during questioning and pretrial detention,
and the problem remained a serious public concern.
According to the domestic human rights organization, Rencontre Africain des
Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO), on May 2, police officers in the Dakar suburban police
station of Guediawaye, beat severely 41-year-old Alioune Sow.
In December police reportedly beat a television cameraman during a demonstration
(see Section 2.b.).
Amnesty International reported that in December 2000, 26-year-old Raoul Mendy
was arrested by government security forces at the Breguede border post in the
Casamance region. According to Mendy, the soldiers undressed him, bound his
hands and feet, and placed him in a trench in the ground. They then allegedly beat
him while interrogating him concerning a recent rebel attack, and accused him of
being a spy. Mendy said the soldiers set fire to empty plastic containers and poured
the melted plastic onto his body. Mendy was subsequently hospitalized for two
months. Amnesty International noted that in June 2001, military authorities arrested
the lieutenant in charge of the group in question. His case was transferred
to the Gendarmerie. No information was available concerning the progress of the
case at year’s end.
Despite stronger legal provisions against torture, those cases that are pursued
often took years before a final judgment was reached.
Prison conditions were poor and prisons remained overcrowded. Food and health
care were inadequate; however, there were no reports of deaths in prison as a result
of these conditions.
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