Chad: Abuse, death in Korotoro prison

• Following protests against the extension of the transitional government’s term in October 2022, the Chadian military was responsible for the deaths of several detainees on the way to and inside Koro Toro prison.
• Chadian military officials oversee a prison where abuse is rampant and have been responsible for the deaths of protesters detained following the October 20, 2022 protests.
• The Chadian government should close one Koro Toro building and rehabilitate the other. Anyone held there without charge should be released immediately. International partners should evaluate their support.

(Nairobi)– ChadThe military was responsible for the deaths of several detainees en route to Korotoro prison in October 2022, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. During the two- to three-day journey from the capital to the prison, prisoners were illegally detained, abused, and deprived of basic necessities.

The 77-page report “‘Worse than Hell’: Death and Torture in Korotoro Prison, Chad” The detention of 72 persons was documented in detail, several of whom were tortured or ill-treated in Koro Toro after 20 October. protest In Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, and several other towns, protests against the two-year extension of the transitional government’s term were held. Security forces fired live ammunition at protesters. Hundreds were then taken to the heavily guarded Korotoro prison, about 600 kilometers away. Finish In May 2024, General Mahamat Idriss Déby was elected.

“Chadian military officials oversee a prison where abuses are rampant and are responsible for the deaths of protesters detained following the October 20, 2022 protests,” Lewis March“The government should take action to address impunity for these abuses, which has led many victims to give up all hope of seeking justice.”

Human Rights Watch said the bodies of the deceased should be returned to their families for burial, and one of the main buildings at Koro Toro prison should be closed as it is unfit for use as a detention center. Chadian authorities, the African Union, and UN agencies should immediately investigate the illegal detentions and abuses at Koro Toro prison and all deaths in custody.

Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 150 people in 2023-2024, including 72 former detainees, family members of detainees who died on the way to or in Korotoro, government officials, and Civilized SocietyHuman Rights Watch matched geographic features seen and verified in images obtained from former detainees with satellite imagery to locate the prison. It used this material, along with sketches provided by victims, to construct a map of the prison.

Korotoro consists of two main prisons, Korotoro 1 (also known as Korotoro Habré Prison) and Korotoro 2 (also known as Korotoro Debi Prison), about one kilometer apart. Korotoro 1 is older and more dilapidated than Korotoro 2. Human Rights Watch found that Korotoro 1 lacks even basic standards of care. Both prisons hold suspects who have not yet been charged with a crime, pretrial detainees, and convicted prisoners.

The prison, designed to hold “violent extremists”, is hundreds of kilometres from major urban centres, cut off from the outside world and without mobile phone reception, making visits by family members and lawyers almost impossible.

Most of the detainees were deprived of food and — more importantly — water for two to three days on the way to Korotoro. One former detainee said that when it became clear that the trucks would not stop for water, he and other detainees began drinking their own urine. “We had a few small bottles that we passed around to other people to drink,” he said.

Some detainees died during transport, presumably from insanity and starvation. Former detainees said guards told them to throw the bodies out of the trucks. Human Rights Watch documented at least four deaths en route to the prison, six deaths inside the prison, and one man who died in both locations, but the actual death toll is likely much higher. Relatives of the deceased were not formally notified, but some were informally notified. In nearly two years, no bodies have been returned to their families.

Former prisoners said that while the prison is guarded by national army soldiers, day-to-day management is run by prisoners suspected of links to the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. They punish and beat other prisoners, oversee food distribution and run a small market. Former prisoners said the soldiers effectively gave these prisoners the power to abuse and beat others.

At least hundreds of people detained in Korotoro prison for the October 20 protests were “shackled” with iron bars around their ankles and another iron bar tied to their feet for weeks. Some were also subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, torture and forced labour.

Judicial proceedings for detainees were conducted inside the prison by the N’Djamena court. According to interviews with former detainees, the interrogations and judicial proceedings were extremely hasty and fell far short of fair trial standards. Most of the defendants were convicted and then pardoned.

The Chadian government insists that the protests on October 20, 2022, amounted to a rebellion and that detention in Korotoro was not extreme given the seriousness of the crime. July 2023 In a letter to Human Rights Watch, Chad’s justice minister said there was “no evidence of human rights violations in connection with the transfer or detention in Koro Toro prison.”

The government of Chad should immediately close Koro Toro Prison 1 and ensure that Koro Toro Prison 2 is urgently renovated to make it fit for the purpose of holding prisoners, including by installing facilities for detainees to contact their families and lawyers. Human Rights Watch said no one should be held in Koro Toro Prison without charge, and anyone currently detained should be released immediately.

Given the lack of serious efforts by the Chadian government to address abuse and torture in Koro Toro prison, Chad’s international partners should evaluate providing financial and other support, including training and capacity building, to institutions directly involved in these violations.

“The government of Mahamat Idriss Deby should demonstrate its respect for the rule of law by closing Korotoro Prison 1 and bringing conditions at Korotoro Prison 2 up to human rights standards,” Machi said. “The authorities should immediately investigate the deaths of detainees en route to and inside Korotoro Prison and prosecute those responsible for this and other abuses in detention.”