Author: Communication Department

Geneva, 21 June 2016 – In a judgment delivered today, the European Court of Human Rights narrowly ruled that Switzerland did not breach the European Convention on Human Rights by denying a Tunisian torture victim the right to seek reparations from his torturer. The victim, who was granted refugee status in Switzerland years ago in light of the torture he had endured, was not able to file a civil case in Tunisia. The European Court ruled that Switzerland could nonetheless bar him from obtaining justice.

Mr. Abdennacer Naït-Liman was arrested while living in Italy and handed over to the Tunisian authorities in April 1992. For 40 days he was arbitrarily detained and subjected to various acts of torture, notably sleep deprivation, beatings and suspension with iron bars. Mr. Naït-Liman endured such treatments in the very premises of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Tunisia. Three years later, unable to return home because of serious risks for his integrity, he was granted asylum in Switzerland, subsequently became a Swiss citizen and has continued since then to fight for justice.

Complaints against a former Tunisian Minister

In February 2001, Mr. Naït-Liman filed a criminal complaint in Geneva against Mr. Abdallah Kallel, former Minister of the Interior, who was in the city at the time. Mr. Naït-Liman accused him of having ordered the physical and psychological torture he suffered. However, the former minister managed to leave Switzerland just before Geneva authorities could follow up on the complaint.

In July 2004, Mr. Naït-Liman opened a new legal front in Geneva, with the support of TRIAL International. Mr. Naït-Liman was indeed unable to return home before the Tunisian Revolution of 2011 to litigate a case there, due to the risk to his personal integrity. The only place he could defend his rights was Geneva, where he had been residing for years. Defended by François Membrez, Mr. Naït-Liman hoped to obtain, through a civil suit, compensation from Mr. Kallel and the Tunisian state for the damage he suffered as a consequence of torture. The Geneva courts and the Federal Court in May 2007 refused to consider his claim, arguing that without a sufficient link to Switzerland such proceedings could not be heard by Swiss courts.

The European Court of Human Rights agrees with Switzerland

In a judgment delivered today, the European Court of Human Rights upheld Switzerland’s position. The Court, by 4 votes to 3, considered that the right of access to a court, guaranteed by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, can sometimes be restricted. Even if the victim could not obtain justice in Tunisia, the Swiss Federal Court was entitled to consider that the link with Switzerland was not sufficient to justify the proceedings to go ahead. Three of the seven judges, however, stated that an 11-year residence in Switzerland, the granting of refugee status, the Swiss citizenship acquired in 2007 and the presence on Swiss territory of the alleged torturer were more than enough to establish a sufficient link. They added: “The delivery of the present ruling will take place a few days before the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26). We can note with a sad irony that this judgment will surely not be hailed on the day of this commemoration. ”

For François Membrez, “the judgment does not say to which country the victim should have turned to assert his fundamental right to obtain redress for the torture he suffered. Having to wait 9 years for such a response is very disappointing.”

Philip Grant, director of TRIAL International, the NGO which supported Mr. Naït-Liman throughout the proceedings, affirmed that “the European Court has missed the opportunity to render an important ruling for victims of torture, by opening up the possibility to bring civil proceedings against their torturer in cases where it is not possible for them to access the courts of the responsible countries. In doing so, the Court sends a wrong signal: having not only already suffered as a result of such practices, victims of torture will additionally be unable to obtain justice, unless of a regime change in their countries. This is not the way to overcome impunity.”

Last month, the United Nations Committee Against Torture condemned Tunisia for the torture of Canadian-Tunisian national Taoufik Elaïba. The case was brought by TRIAL International in partnership with ACAT-France.

A father of four, Taoufik Elaïba was arrested in 2009. Having been tortured by the National Guard for six days, he signed a “confession” obtained under duress, which resulted in a seven-year prison sentence. Neither his denunciation of the torture he suffered nor the intervention of several lawyers could convince the judge to review his sentence.

In June 2013, ACAT-France and TRIAL International filed a complaint before the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT). The decision in favour of Mr. Elaïba was handed down on 6 May 2016. In its ruling, the CAT emphasised the lack of investigation into the torture allegations, the lack of compensation and the reliance on forced confessions to justify the victim’s continued detention.

TRIAL International welcomes the CAT’s decision and demands the immediate release of Mr. Elaïba and the prosecution of those responsible. The Tunisian government has repeatedly expressed before the UN its determination to eradicate torture: it is time these promises were acted upon.

Read the CAT decision

Victory at the UN for a torture victim

Last month, the United Nations Committee Against Torture condemned Tunisia for the torture of Canadian-Tunisian national Taoufik Elaïba. The case was brought by TRIAL International in partnership with ACAT-France. 

A father of four, Taoufik Elaïba was arrested in 2009. Having been tortured by the National Guard for six days, he signed a “confession” obtained under duress, which resulted in a seven-year prison sentence. Neither his denunciation of the torture he suffered nor the intervention of several lawyers could convince the judge to review his sentence.

In June 2013, ACAT-France and TRIAL International filed a complaint before the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT). The decision in favour of Mr. Elaïba was handed down on 6 May 2016. In its ruling, the CAT emphasised the lack of investigation into the torture allegations, the lack of compensation and the reliance on forced confessions to justify the victim’s continued detention.

TRIAL International welcomes the CAT’s decision and demands the immediate release of Mr. Elaïba and the prosecution of those responsible. The Tunisian government has repeatedly expressed before the UN its determination to eradicate torture: it is time these promises were acted upon.

Read the CAT decision

 

Lack of identity protection for victims filing compensation claims poses serious threats to their security and well-being. Last month, TRIAL International stepped up its advocacy efforts in favor of better protection.

Identity protection in criminal proceedings is crucial to prevent retaliation against victims speaking up, but also to protect them from additional trauma and isolation. It is particularly important for vulnerable groups, such as sexual violence survivors, who already face acute social, economic, and psychological hurdles when seeking justice.

While victims are guaranteed identity protection in war crimes cases, they are all too often redirected to civil proceedings to claim reparation – where no law protects their anonymity. As a consequence, many victims give up their claims altogether.

Throughout the month of May, TRIAL International has focused its advocacy efforts on this issue. Its Sarajevo-based team has met with national legal experts, including Ombudswoman for Human Rights Jasminka Džumhur and Supreme Court judge Goran Nezirović. Together, they will work to facilitate the reform of civil and enforcement proceedings, offering better protection to the tens of thousands of victims still awaiting justice.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child found severe shortcomings in child protection in Nepal. Former child soldiers are amongst the most affected.

On 19 and 20 May, the Committee examined Nepal’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC). Its conclusions, issued on 9 June, took up several of TRIAL International’s recommendations.

The Committee recommended the prosecution of those responsible for recruiting and using children in the ten-years internal conflict. This would imply amending Nepal’s criminal legislation, which does not as yet criminalize the use of underage children in conflict. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act includes no explicit mention of such crimes either.

Reparations have been both scarcely attributed and widely inadequate. The Committee urged the Nepalese authorities to provide all former child soldiers with physical and psychological support and to facilitate their rehabilitation and reintegration.

More generally, the Committee expressed concern over the prevailing impunity for torture, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and sexual violence against children during the armed conflict.

TRIAL International welcomes the Committee’s findings and urges Nepalese authorities to implement them without further delay.

TRIAL International is strongly committed to building up capacity among legal practitioners, including very young ones. Since March, the NGO has conducted a law clinic with students from the Geneva Human Rights Project on sub-regional African institutions.

Over the last months, TRIAL International has worked with four law students on the East African Court of Justice and the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. The purpose of their research was to assess the feasibility and efficiency of human rights litigation before these institutions. The students produced a practical guide covering of their structure, functioning and human rights jurisprudence that TRIAL International will use in its future work.

“Working on the guide pushed me to think things from a different perspective”, said one student. “It pushed me to think practically and creatively, instead of stopping at formal solutions.” TRIAL International believes in the value of such hands-on projects to train the next generation of lawyers: “Student can better grasp the reality of our NGO and its peculiar mandate of fighting impunity. The law clinic highlights the mutual enriching of academic research and legal practice in the area of human rights”, said Pamela Capizzi, one of the project’s coordinators at TRIAL International.

With the end of the academic year, the law clinic came to a close last month. This trial run has been highly successful both from TRIAL International’s and the students’ perspectives, and will no doubt open the way to other similar collaborations in the near future.

We warmly thank Alfredo Crosato Neumann, Amélie Oppliger, Vera Piovesan and Maria-Rosa Rinne, and their coordinator Ben Shea for their outstanding work!
TRIAL International is strongly committed to building up capacity among legal practitioners, including very young ones. Since March, the NGO has conducted a law clinic with students from the Geneva Human Rights Project on sub-regional African institutions. 

Over the last months, TRIAL International has worked with four law students on the East African Court of Justice and the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. The purpose of their research was to assess the feasibility and efficiency of human rights litigation before these institutions. The students produced a practical guide covering of their structure, functioning and human rights jurisprudence that TRIAL International will use in its future work.

“Working on the guide pushed me to think things from a different perspective”, said one student. “It pushed me to think practically and creatively, instead of stopping at formal solutions.” TRIAL International believes in the value of such hands-on projects to train the next generation of lawyers: “Student can better grasp the reality of our NGO and its peculiar mandate of fighting impunity. The law clinic highlights the mutual enriching of academic research and legal practice in the area of human rights”, said Pamela Capizzi, one of the project’s coordinators at TRIAL International.

With the end of the academic year, the law clinic came to a close last month. This trial run has been highly successful both from TRIAL International’s and the students’ perspectives, and will no doubt open the way to other similar collaborations in the near future.

We warmly thank Alfredo Crosato Neumann, Amélie Oppliger, Vera Piovesan and Maria-Rosa Rinne, and their coordinator Ben Shea for their outstanding work.

 

For the first-ever European Day against Impunity, a coalition of NGOs called on member States to meet mounting demand for effective international justice mechanisms.

On 23 May, the European Union (EU) celebrated its first annual Day against Impunity. On this occasion, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, FIDH, ECCHR, REDRESS and TRIAL International have issued a joint statement demanding stronger commitment from member States to international justice.

Underlining the limited capacity of international courts to fight impunity, the NGOs recommended that States adopt necessary laws and create specialized war crimes units, granting them sufficient financial and political support. They also highlighted that prosecution in third states was often the only available option, for instance for Syrian or Iraqi victims, to obtain justice.

“States have to take concrete steps to fight impunity, fine word are not enough. War crimes units have to be created and reinforced”, said Head of Inquiry and Criminal Law Division Benedict de Moerloose.

Over the past decades, EU countries have started prosecuting the gravest crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction, but diplomatic considerations continue to hamper cases relating to powerful countries. Belgium and Spain have already limited or effectively abandoned their universal jurisdiction laws following diplomatic pressure.

Read the joint press release

Read our annual report on universal jurisdiction

An EU project, carried out in collaboration with the UNDP, will allow TRIAL International to extend its efforts in the fight against impunity in Eastern DRC.

Thanks to its expertise with regard to access to justice, TRIAL International was approached by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to participate in a project designed to improve the Congolese justice system. The project is carried out together with the European Union, its main contributor.

The project aims at fighting international crime by facilitating victims’ access to justice. It is based on two priorities: on one hand, at the national level, developing the role of civil jurisdictions; on the other hand, promoting the access of victims to regional and international bodies such as the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

The first stage of the project will run until 2018. Within this framework, TRIAL International, already present in South Kivu, should extend its efforts to the province of Katanga, infamous for the prevailing impunity in the area.

Dear friends and partners,

TRIAL is turning fourteen today and we are happy to celebrate it with you in a very special way!

TRIAL came into being on 6 June 2002. That day, its members met for their first General Assembly, laying out the organization’s mission which still constitute its cornerstones today: fighting impunity, supporting victims in their quest for justice and redress, building an international network of committed lawyers, advocating for fairer laws and policies.

Since then, TRIAL has never stopped expanding: it is now present on three continents and recognized as a key actor in the worldwide fight against impunity. It was therefore time for TRIAL’s identity to evolve and reflect this broader scope of action. For the past three years, our staff has worked tirelessly on an important makeover, with the unbending support of TRIAL’s Board and members.

Today, we are proud to present TRIAL’s new identity, including a new name, a new visual identity and a new website. This new identity is an expression of our very DNA: a fundamentally innovative NGO that breaks new legal ground and opens up new avenues for justice.

TRIAL International

A more visible, more international image

TRIAL International will from now on be the organization’s official name. “We have outgrown the names ‘Swiss association against impunity’ and ‘Track Impunity Always’, which will no longer be used”, explained our Director Philip Grant. “We believe that TRIAL International will better reflect our international scope, while remaining faithful to who we are”, he added.

The organization’s drive and energy are also reflected in our new logo, combining a spunky orange with a powerful black & white doors symbol. “These colors are the basis of our broader visual identity, declined in a large array of tools”, said our Head of Communications Chloé Bitton.

The main flagship of this facelift is TRIAL International’s new website. “We wanted the navigation to be very intuitive, hence the simplified sitemap, the shorter texts and the refined search function. We also wished to bring to light the human aspect of our work, with victims’ stories at the forefront”, said Kevin Karlen, the organization’s Web Project Officer.

At this turning point in TRIAL International’s history, we warmly thank all those who have stood by us over the past fourteen years. Your trust and support mean everything to us. The path to ending impunity is a long and uphill one, but we strongly believe that together, with joint efforts and renewed commitment, we can open new doors and make justice prevail.


We hope that you will appreciate our new identity and look forward to hearing or reading your reactions!

Annual Report on Universal Jurisdiction

TRIAL, FIBGAR, ECCHR and FIDH publish for the second consecutive year their annual report on universal jurisdiction. Make way for Justice #2 reviews criminal cases which have, in 2015, involved this groundbreaking but underused principle.

2015 has seen the opening of the most anticipated trial of our time, that of former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre. After 30 years of impunity, he has finally been judged for the atrocities he has inflicted on his people. This historical trial could not have taken place without a unique legal tool: universal jurisdiction.

Read this news article for more information

One morning in 2006 as he was leaving his house, Alain (not his real name) found himself eye to eye with about twenty policemen who had come to arrest him. Immediately taken to the police station, he was – wrongly – accused of preparing a coup d’état.

Faced with his refusal to acknowledge the false allegations, the agents beat him. Alain was severely beaten and lashed across his entire body with various steel and wooden objects. The beating continued until the victim, exhausted and bruised, gave in to this violent blackmail by signing an acknowledgment of his guilt.

This statement, obtained under torture, warranted the victim’s detention for many months under appalling conditions. When finally brought before a judge, Alain was released because of lack of evidence.

He continued to be persecuted after his release, however. The day after his release, physical and mental torture gave way to psychological harassment. The victim and his family were subjected to death threats and intense surveillance. These threats ultimately forced them to flee the country.

 

Procedure

The judge in charge of the case against Alain was repeatedly informed of the acts of torture of which Alain had been a victim, in vain.

Neither the support from tens of Burundian and international human rights NGOs nor the intervention of the United Nations succeeded in changing the situation.

In view of the national justice system’s inaction, TRIAL International helped Alain file a complaint before the United Nations. It upheld Alain’s complaint, calling upon the State to afford reparation to the victim for the acts of torture that he had suffered.

To this day, Alain has received no compensation for the torture he suffered more than eleven years ago.

 

Yohann (real name withheld) was an active member of the National Liberation Forces (FNL), an opposition party. A prominent political personality in his community, he first came under pressure in the run-up to the 2010 elections: arrest and arbitrary detention, public threats, harassment, etc. Fearing for his life, Yohann fled to another region of Burundi.

After the elections, unrest across the country led to violence of a political nature. Yohann was one of the victims of such violence: in 2011, he was taken away in a tinted-windowed vehicle and found dead a few days later. The injuries on his body appeared to indicate that he had been tortured before his execution.

Yohann’s death provoked an outcry among NGOs, which immediately demanded that an investigation be opened. Although this was officially what happened, no investigative act was carried out, and none of the members of the victim’s family was heard. In 2014, the case was closed with no further action. The national and international organizations’ outrage over this did not change a thing.

In 2014, an NGO coalition, of which TRIAL International was part, referred the case to an international human rights body. They are demanding that Burundi’s violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights be acknowledged and that reparations be afforded to Yohann’s family.

 

Jules (not his real name), married with four children, was a long-standing member of the National Liberation Front (FNL), an opposition party.

In 2010, a post-election crisis swept across the country, resulting in a deterioration of the safety of political opponents and a surge in extrajudicial executions.

That was when Jules began to be persecuted and threatened by the Burundian national police and intelligence services.

These intimidations amplified until 2012 when, fearing for his life, Jules was forced to go into hiding. Despite these precautions, that very year he fell into a trap set by an old friend and was abducted, tortured, and finally executed.

His decapitated body was found bearing signs of torture. His family did not get a chance to see his remains or even to organize a dignified funeral for him.

 

 

Procedure

As soon as Jules’ death was announced, numerous NGOs mobilized to ensure that justice would be done.

The events also received widespread coverage in the media. Faced with this surge, the Burundian authorities responded by saying that an investigation had been launched.

To this day, however, the victim’s family was never heard, and no outcome has since been reported.

Jules’ family still lives in fear for their safety, because at any moment they could face retaliation from Jules’ executioners.

As the national justice system seems incapable of taking this case forward, TRIAL International and other NGOs have referred it to an international human rights body.

Among other things, the NGOs are demanding Burundi’s responsibility in Jules’ murder to be acknowledged and appropriate reparation to be awarded to the victim’s family, including compensation and rehabilitation measures.

The case is ongoing.

In December 2018, the case was declared admissible by the ACHPR.

 

Vincent (real name withheld) is a Burundian politician, a member of the opposition party. In the past, he held important positions in the government and the Burundian national assembly and was one of the most outspoken critics of the party in power. In 2013, V. I. openly contested a government measure that intended to amend the Constitution. A few days later, he was arrested and charged with adultery. That charges quickly changed attempted corruption and rebellion against the security forces. It quickly transpired that these charges were nothing but false allegations to get this “bothersome” critic arrested.

The arrest and detention proceedings were marred by numerous irregularities. V. I. was not able to get in touch with a lawyer before the interrogation, for example, nor was he released when the competent court ordered the authorities to do so.

The Burundian authorities’ clear reluctance do to anything led TRIAL International to file a complaint before the United Nations on V. I.’s behalf. The NGO asked it, in particular, to acknowledge Burundi’s violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (right to liberty of the person, to safeguards in the event of deprivation of liberty, and so on). The United Nations has asked the Burundian State to bring justice to the victim, which must include the prosecution of the perpetrators and the granting of appropriate compensation.

 

Sidoine (real name withheld) was the night porter at a hospital. One night, two vehicles driven by local officials arrived outside A&E. Without any explanation, the officials threw two injured men to the ground, seemingly following an altercation. While asking for details of the patients’ condition, Sidoine was slapped by the men driving the vehicles. He tried to escape but was caught and beaten up. No doubt fearing that other medical staff would arrive as backup, the perpetrators grabbed a half-conscious Sidoine and forced him into their vehicle. He lost consciousness on the way.

Sidoine was kept imprisoned for four days. Handcuffed for 32 hours straight and forced to share his cell with 40 other inmates, he received no treatment for the inflicted wounds. The only food he ate was that brought by his colleagues visiting him. It was also Sidoine’s colleagues who alerted the media to his fate; however, the public denunciations were quickly stifled under pressure from the local authorities.

Upon his release from prison, Sidoine had to spend a month in hospital to recover. He has remained in poor health ever since: despite the care and surgery, he has never totally regained use of his legs.

Proceedings

Upon his release, Sidoine tried to obtain justice. Three attempts before three different institutions came to nothing: the Burundian authorities did not want to hear anything of the torture he had suffered. Given the media hype surrounding the case, it is nonetheless likely that the legal and political authorities were aware of what had happened to him.

The national courts had done nothing for 18 months, which only left one option: seeking remedy at an international level. In 2012, assisted by TRIAL International, Sidoine brought his case before the UN, asking them to recognise the torture inflicted on him, and his right to compensation.

In 2014, the UN called on the Burundian state to open an investigation into the ill-treatment of Sidoine. The deliberate nature of the blows inflicted, the lack of food and the appalling conditions of his imprisonment were formally recognized.

Following this decision, the Burundian authorities opened an investigation. The proceedings are ongoing.

 

Mr Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa is a prominent defender of human rights in Burundi. In May 2014, he publicly spoke out against the Burundian government’s policy of recruiting and training youths aligned with the party, who go by the name of “Imbonerakure” and are often accused of abuse perpetrated against civilians (pillage, violence, etc.). The day after taking this stance, Mr Mbonimpa was called in by the judicial police and answered their questions as best he could, sharing the information that he had gathered for his research.

A few days later, while he was getting ready to leave Burundi for work, Mr Mbonimpa was arrested at Bujumbura airport and spent the night in custody. The following day, he was charged with undermining the State’s domestic and international security because of statements made about the “Imbonerakure”. The Regional Court and the Court of Appeal of Bujumbura decided to hold Mr Mbonimpa in detention, accusing him of spreading misleading information, of exposing the country to hostile acts from another State, and of stating inaccurate facts.

It gradually became clear that Mr Mbonimpa’s detention resulted from his work as a defender of human rights and from the expression of his opinions. Numerous NGOs such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty international, Frontline Defenders and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders called for Mr Mbonimpa’s release.

On 22 May 2014, TRIAL International filed a petition before the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on the victim’s behalf. The group handed down an urgent decision on this case, demanding that Mr Mbonimpa be released immediately and that reparations be afforded to him.

 

Watch the testimony of Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa

 

A prominent member of a Burundian opposition party, Henri (real name withheld) was arrested on his way to work in 2010. Before even reaching the police station, the agents had started beating him. The acts of abuse lasted for hours and continued while he was incarcerated. On top of the torture and the threats, Henri was held under deplorable conditions: for five days, he was not given any water or food, and he was handcuffed the entire time.

Henri was held in detention for 15 months before being brought before a judge. The judge unfairly convicted him of complicity in the illegal possession of firearms but, as he had already served the sentence that he was given, Henri was released a few days later.

Despite Henri’s efforts and the international community’s unanimous condemnation, the Burundian authorities did not open an investigation.

With TRIAL’s help, the case was referred to the United Nations in 2012. It acknowledged the Burundian State’s responsibility in Henri’s case, as well as violations of its international obligations to fight against torture. The victim should have received reparation, but he died beforehand.

 

Mr O.R. was an active member of an opposition party. In 2011, his life crumbled after he began being harassed by an agent of the National Intelligence Service (Service National des Renseignements, or SNR). The agent told him to join the party in power and denounce his colleagues. He received similar phone calls up to four times a day.
A few months after the threats began, two SNR agents barged into his home. They asked him several questions about the leader of his party, but the victim was unable to answer any of them. After searching his house, the two agents took Mr O.R. away. The next day, the victim’s body was found nearby, riddled with bullets and bearing signs of torture.
Since then, and despite ample media coverage, no investigation has been carried out. The victim’s family remains in complete ignorance and no presumed author has been arrested.
In 2015, TRIAL seized the file and took it to a human rights protection organisation. In its complaint, it alleged that the murder of Mr O.R. is, among others, a violation of his rights to live, to non-discrimination, to freedom and to freedom of speech.

 

Marc (real name withheld), was a member of the Burundian military and father of two children. He was arrested at the same time as many of his colleagues, falsely accused of plotting a coup.

Marc denied the allegations for hours but his prison guards did not give up, resorting to torture to make him “confess”. He was subjected to blows from chairs, gun butts and belts, insults and mock executions – which amounts to psychological torture. Wounded and terrified, he “confessed” to the crimes of which he was accused.

Another prisoner recalls Marc at the end of his ordeal: “He was sitting on a chair and was handcuffed… his body was bloody. […] He had head wounds, which were very visible as he had no hair. He had rope marks on his biceps. He was showing signs of pain and fatigue but was conscious. He had evidently been subjected to severe torture during his interrogation.”

After months of imprisonment and ill-treatment, Marc finally appeared before a court for the crimes of which he was accused. He denounced the torture he had suffered and explained the circumstances in which he had signed his statement. Despite this, he was sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

Proceedings

When Marc was released in 2012, no investigation had been opened. Repeated threats did not stop him from denouncing his treatment and appealing to the courts. Weakened by his imprisonment and still suffering the after-effects, he was also financially destitute. His wife and children had to temporarily leave Burundi for their own safety.

Several international NGOs came together for Marc’s cause but the authorities did not take any action following their efforts. As a result, TRIAL International took up the case in 2013, taking it before the United Nations.

In 2015, the UN recognised the violations suffered by Marc, as well as the State’s responsibility. Unfortunately, he was not able to enjoy this victory for long. Marc died in 2016 before compensation was awarded to him.

 

In 2012, a false accusation led to the arrest of Marius (assumed name). At the police station, he was kicked with boots and lashed with belts so violently that he lost consciousness. Left in this critical condition without getting the slightest bit of care, he had to wait several hours before being taken to hospital. Today, Marius still suffers from the physical and psychological scars of that traumatic episode.

The day after the incident, Marius reported the torture that he had suffered and an investigation was opened. The victim’s hopes of justice did not last long because the trial came to a standstill for several months. When, because of M.’s relentless insistence, the justice system finally examined the case, the facts found proved fell well short of what the victim had endured, and by no means reflected the seriousness of the violence. No further action was taken.

TRIAL International, with the help of its partners in Burundi, referred the case to the United Nations in 2013. In its decision, it acknowledged the double harm caused to Marius: the torture that he had suffered and the inaction of the Burundian justice system.