AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

l'alternance démocratique” (IDC-FROCAD)
claimed that 121 political prisoners remained
in detention in Brazzaville’s main prison.
On 9 November, the authorities denied
authorization for a sit-in organized by the
youth movement “Ras-le-Bol” in Brazzaville.
IDC-FROCAD reported that protests had been
banned on several occasions, generally on
the grounds that they would risk disturbing
public order, and that documents banning
the protests made reference to the April postelectoral
violence in Brazzaville.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Government security forces conducted air
strikes on residential areas in the
southeastern department of Pool on 5 April.
Helicopters dropped at least 30 bombs on
residential areas, including on a school in the
town of Vindza when targeting the former
residence of Pastor Frederic Ntumi, leader of
the “Ninjas” armed group. Officials from Pool
reported that up to 5,000 people had been
displaced. The air strikes followed an
outbreak of violence in Brazzaville following
the endorsement on 4 April by the
Constitutional Court of the result of the
presidential elections, in which gunfire broke
out in the streets, young people raised
barricades in the southern neighbourhood of
Makélékélé, a local mayor’s office and two
police stations were set ablaze and armed
men attacked an army barracks. The
government attributed the violence to the
“Ninjas”.
On 29 April, a joint mission composed of
police, journalists and civil society
organizations to assess the security situation
in Pool and investigate the bombardments
was conducted. It had yet to produce an
official report at the end of the year.
Further air strikes were carried out in Pool
in September; information on the incidents
was limited due to the extreme difficulty in
accessing the area, including because of
restrictions set by the government.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
On 29 September, Augustin Kala Kala,
deputy national coordinator of CADD, was
kidnapped by members of the presidential
security forces in the Sadelmy
neighbourhood of Brazzaville. He said that
his hands and feet were handcuffed, and that
he was subjected to electric shocks and
burned on several occasions with plastic
bags on his back and his hands. He was also
beaten with wooden sticks and a belt, and
spent nine days in a container. He was
released on 13 October and dumped near a
hospital mortuary in Brazzaville. No
investigation was initiated into his allegations.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In September, a draft law regulating civil
society organizations was adopted by the
Senate and was awaiting promulgation by the
President. Civil society organizations had
complained that the law was developed
without meaningful consultation, and that it
limited their freedom of association through
measures that included criminalizing
activities perceived to threaten institutional
stability, preventing religious organizations
from working on political questions, and
requiring approval by the authorities to carry
out activities.
CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
Head of state: Alassane Dramane Ouattara
Head of government: Daniel Kablan Duncan
The rights to freedom of expression, of
association and of peaceful assembly were
restricted; scores of opposition members
were arrested. Dozens of detainees still
awaited trial in connection with postelectoral
violence in 2010 and 2011;
concerns remained about selective
accountability for crimes committed during
that period. The trial of Laurent Gbagbo and
Charles Blé Goudé opened at the ICC.
Simone Gbagbo was not transferred to the
ICC despite an outstanding arrest warrant;
her trial before a national court began. The
UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Amnesty International Report 2016/17 129