Nairobi — Human Rights Watch Ex-Counsel Detained, Expelled; Conference Canceled
Police in Chad forced the cancelation of a conference in the capital, N'Djamena, on October 2, 2024, that was planned to discuss justice for the victims of abuse by Hissène Habré, Human Rights Watch said today. The police also detained a former Human Rights Watch counsel who was to be a keynote speaker at the conference.
"Targeting human rights activists for speaking up for justice underlines the gravity of the continued injustices the victims of Hissène Habré face," said Tirana Hassan, Executive Director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of trying to silence the messenger, the government should complete the process of full compensation to Habré's long-suffering victims."
The cultural and press section of the United States Embassy in N'Djamena in partnership with the Center for Development Study and Training (Centre d'Etude et de Formation pour le Développement), a research institute, had organized the panel discussion. Key speakers were to be Reed Brody, a former counsel and spokesperson at Human Rights Watch who led the organization's work on Hissène Habré, and Jacqueline Moudeina, a celebrated human rights activist who has worked extensively on the Habré case. Brody was also there to discuss the French edition of his book To Catch a Dictator: The Pursuit and Trial of Hissène Habré (La Traque de Hissène Habré: Juger un dictateur dans un monde d'impunité).
Police arrived at the center's office at 2:30 p.m. on October 2, shortly before the conference was to start, and demanded Brody's passport. One witness heard a police officer say, "We are going to put you on a plane out of the country tonight." The police initially wanted to detain Brody and take him away in their vehicle, but center staff were able to negotiate and reach an agreement that they would drive Brody to the police intelligence office, the Direction générale du renseignement et de l'investigation, in their own car following the police.
At the intelligence office, Brody was questioned for approximately two hours about why he did not seek specific authorization for the conference. Police then accompanied Brody to his hotel and forced him to pack his bags for a flight that night. Brody was originally scheduled to leave Chad on October 4.
The police actions are highly unusual in Chad, where Chadian and international organizations frequently hold news conferences and panel discussions without difficulty and without seeking prior authorization. These organizations, including Human Rights Watch, also regularly publish and broadcast reports and statements. However, in their day-to-day activities, Chadian civil society groups and journalists have reported harassment and intimidation when reporting on human rights violations.
The decision to block the conference is an illustration that some government officials are unwilling to listen to criticism of the country's past human rights situation - and learn from its lessons - as well as to make good on promises to compensate victims, Human Rights Watch said.
Habré's one-party rule from 1982 to 1990 was marked by widespread atrocities, including targeting certain ethnic groups. Files from the Directorate of Documentation and Security, Habré's political police, recovered by Human Rights Watch in 2001, revealed the names of 1,208 people who were killed or died in detention, and 12,321 victims of human rights violations. Habré was deposed in 1990 by Idriss Déby Itno and fled to Senegal to live in exile.
On May 30, 2016, following a long campaign by the victims supported by Human Rights Watch, an African Union (AU)-backed Senegalese court in Dakar convicted Habré of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture, including sexual violence and rape, and sentenced him to life in prison. Habré died in prison in August 2021. In a separate trial in Chad, a court on March 25, 2015, had convicted 20 Habré-era security agents on murder and torture charges. Both courts ordered tens of millions of dollars in victim compensation.
Following the unexpected death of Idriss Déby Itno in 2021, his son, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, seized power and declared himself head of a military council in a transition that violated the constitution. The constitution was replaced in a referendum in December 2023 by a new one enabling Mahamat Déby to run for president. He was elected president in May in an electoral period marred by violence.
In February 2024, following a meeting between President Déby and three Chadian victims' associations, the government began making payments of US$16.5 million (10 billion CFA francs) to 10,700 victims, including prison survivors and the families of those who were killed under Habré, who will each receive 925,000 CFA ($1,529). This is less than 10 percent of what the courts in Senegal and Chad had awarded. The victims' associations have welcomed the payments but insisted on their right to more complete compensation.
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The government has also not complied with a ruling from a Chadian court ordering the creation of a monument to honor those killed under Habré and a museum in the former political police headquarters where detainees were tortured.
Although the AU allocated $5 million to a trust fund for the victims in 2017, in line with the Senegal appellate court's order, the fund has yet to begin work.
"The government should engage in a positive dialogue with human rights defenders and victims of Habré's crimes to secure their redress and improve the broader human rights situation in Chad," Hassan said. "The government should support the work of activists like Brody and Moudeina, who are pressing for accountability for serious crimes in Chad and beyond, and we hope our otherwise constructive relationship with the Chadian government can continue."
