Amnesty International (AI) has called on Ivory Coast to unconditionally release those ‘arbitrarily detained’ as hundreds of people ‘languish in dire conditions’ in prison.

The human rights organisation said in a report that many citizens are in pre-trial detention with limited access to lawyers.

AI said it interviewed 52 people, including former detainees, families of detainees, lawyers, victims of violence and activists, during a mission in the West African country in February.

Researchers, according to AI, also met with authorities to assess the judicial response to the protests and violence that followed the presidential election in October 2020.

At least 300 people including activists, protesters, opposition supporters, and alleged perpetrators of violence from across the political spectrum have been reportedly arrested and detained.

‘Detainees are suffering dire conditions in already overcrowded prisons. Many of them have limited access to lawyers or medical treatment, and current Covid-19 restrictions impede visits from their families’, AI’s West and Central Africa Director, Samira Daoud, said.

‘They must be treated humanely and must be able to communicate with their families and lawyers.

‘We call on authorities in [Ivory Coast] to put an end to the systematic use of pre-trial detention, especially, to immediately and unconditionally release those arbitrarily detained and to expedite proceedings for the other detainees in due respect of the rights of the defence’.

The organisation commended the country’s government for the progress that has been made in investigating the violence that raged between supporters of the ruling and the opposition parties in many towns.

It however said it had documented several human rights violations linked with the judicial process of protesters and other people.

Source: Amnesty International

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