CCPR/C/50/D/428/1990

UNITED CCPR

NATIONS

i) International Covenant Distr.

W Vv on Civil and Political Rights RESTRICTED */

—_ a

CCPR/C/50/D/428/1990

26 April 1994

Original: ENGLISH

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Fiftieth session

VIEWS

Communication No. 428/1990

Submitted by: Yvonne M'Boissona

Victim: Her brother, Frangois Bozize

State party: Central African Republic

Date of communication: 14 November 1990 (initial submission)

Documentation references: Prior decisions:

- Special Rapporteur's rule 91 decision, transmitted

to the State party on 13 February 1991

(not issued in document form)

- CCPR/C/45/D/428/1990

(Decision on admissibility, dated 8 July 1992)

Date of adoption of Views: 7 April 1994

On 7 April 1994, the Human Rights Committee adopted its Views under article 5,

paragraph 4, of the Optional Protocol, in respect of communication No. 428/1990. The text of

the Views is appended to the present document.

[Annex]

*/ Made public by decision of the Human Rights Committee.

VWS428.50e cm

CCPR/C/50/D/428/1990

Annex

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Page 1

ANNEX

Views of the Human Rights Committee under article 5, paragraph 4,

of the Optional! Protocol to the International Covenant

on Civil and Political Rights

- Fiftieth session -

conceming

Communication No. 428/1990

Submitted by: | Yvonne M'Boissona

Victim: Her brother, Frangois Bozize

State party: Central African Republic

Date of communication: 14 November 1990

Date of decision on admissibility: 8 July 1992

The Human Rights Committee, established under article 28 of the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

Meeting on 7 April 1994,

Having concluded its consideration of communication No. 428/1990, submitted to the

Human Rights Committee by Mrs. M'Boissona, on behalf of her brother Mr. F. Bozize, under

the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

Having taken into account all written information made available to it by the author

of the communication and the State party,

Adopts its Views under article 5, paragraph 4, of the Optional Protocol.

CCPR/C/50/D/428/1990

Annex

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1. The author of the communication is Yvonne M’Boissona, a citizen of the Central

African Republic residing at Stains, France. She submits the communication on behalf of her

brother, Francois Bozize, currently detained at a penitentiary at Bangui, Central African

Republic. She claims that her brother is a victim of violations of his human rights by the

authorities of the Central African Republic, but does not invoke any provisions of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The facts as submitted by the author:

2.1 The author states that her brother was a high-level military officer of the armed forces

of the Central African Republic. On 3 March 1982, he instigated a coup d'état; after its failure,

he went into exile in Benin. On 24 July 1989, the author's brother was arrested at a hotel in .

Cotonou, Benin, together with 11 other citizens of the Central African Republic; all were

presumed members of the political opposition, the Central African Movement of National -

Liberation (Mouvement centrafricain de libération nationale). On 31 August 1989, Mr. Bozize

and the other opposition activists were repatriated by force, allegedly with the help of a Central

African Republic military commando allowed to operate within Benin; this "extradition" is said

to have been negotiated between the Governments of Benin and the Central African Republic.

The forced repatriation occurred without a formal extradition request having been issued by

the Government of the Central African Republic.

2.2 Upon his return to Bangui, Mr. Bozize was imprisoned at Camp Roux, where he

allegedly suffered serious maltreatment and beatings. The author claims that her brother was

not allowed access to a lawyer of his own choosing, nor to a member of his family. Allegedly,

not even a doctor was allowed to see him.to provide basic medical care. Furthermore, the

sanitary conditions of the prison are said to be deplorable and the food allegedly consists of

rotten meat mixed with sand; as a result, the weight of Mr. Bozize dropped to 40 kilograms

by the summer of 1990.

2.3 During the night of 10 to 11 July 1990, the prison authorities of Camp Roux reportedly

stage-managed a power failure in the sector of town where the prison is located, purportedly

to incite Mr. Bozize to attempt an escape. As this practice is said to be common and invariably

results in the death of the would-be escapee, Mr. Bozize did not leave his cell. The author

contends that, in the course of the night, her brother was brutally beaten for several hours and

severely injured. This version of the events was confirmed by Mr. Bozize's lawyer, Maitre

Thiangaye, who was able to visit his client on 26 October 1990 and who noticed numerous

_ traces of beatings and ascertained that Mr. Bozize had two broken ribs. The lawyer also

reported that Mr. Bozize was kept shackled, that his reading material had been confiscated

and that the prison guards only allowed him out of his cell twice a week. Allegedly, this

treatment is known to, and condoned by, President Kolingba and-the Ministers of Defence and

of the Interior. .

2.4 ‘ The authorities of the Central African Republic consistently maintain that Mr. Bozize

indeed attempted to escape from the prison and that he sustained injuries in the process. This

is denied by the author, who points to her brother's weak physical condition in the summer of

1990 and argues that he could: not possibly have climbed over the three-metre high prison

wall.

CCPR/C/50/D/428/1990

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2.5 Mr. Bozize's wife, who currently resides in France, has requested the good offices of .

the French authorities. By a letter of 29 October 1990, the President of the National Assembly

informed her that the French foreign service had ascertained that Mr. Bozize was alive and

that he had been transferred to the Kassai prison at Bangui.

2.6 As to the issue of exhaustion of domestic remedies, it is submitted that criminal

proceedings against Mr. Bozize were to have been opened on 28 February 1991, allegedly

in order to profit from the momentary absence, due to a trip abroad, of his. lawyer. However,

the trial was postponed for "technical reasons”. Since then, the trial has apparently been

postponed on other occasions. Mrs. Bozize complains that in the months following his arrest,

her husband was denied access to counsel; later, the family retained the services of a lawyer

to defend him. The lawyer, however, was denied authorization to visit his client; the lawyer

allegedly also suffered restrictions of his freedom of movement on account of his client.

The complaint:

3. It is submitted that the events described above constitute violations of Mr. Bozize's

rights under the Covenant. Although the author does not specifically invoke any provisions of

the Covenant, it transpires from the context of her submissions that her claims relate primarily

to articles 7, 9, 10, 14 and 19 of the Covenant.

The Committee's admissibility decision:

4.1 During its forty-fifth session, in July 1992, the Committee considered the admissibility

of the communication. It noted with concern that, in spite of two reminders addressed to the

State party, in July and September 1991, no information or observations on the admissibility

of the communication had been received from the State party. In the circumstances, the

Committee found that it was not precluded from considering the communication under article

5, paragraph 2(b), of the Optional Protocol.

4.2 On 8 July 1992, the Committee declared the communication admissible in so far as

it appeared to raise issues under articles 7, 9, 10, 14, paragraphs 1, 3, and 19, of the

Covenant.

Examination of the merits:

5.1 The State party did not provide any information in respect of the substance of the

author's allegations, in spite of two reminders addressed to it in June 1993 and February

1994. The Committee notes with regret and great concern the absence of cooperation on the

part of the State party, in respect of both the admissibility and the substance of the author's

allegations. It is implicit in article 4, paragraph 2, of the Optional Protocol and in rule 91 of the

Committee's rules of procedure that a State party to the Covenant must investigate in good

faith all the allegations of violations of the Covenant made against it and its authorities, and

to furnish to the Committee the information available to it. In the circumstances, due weight

must be given to the author's allegations, to the extent that they have been substantiated.

CCPR/C/50/D/428/1990

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§.2 The Committee decides to base its Views on the following facts, which have not been

contested by the State party. Mr. Francois Bozize was arrested on 24 July 1989 and was

taken to the military camp at Roux, Bangui, on 31 August 1989. There, he was subjected to

maltreatment and was held incommunicado until 26 October 1990, when his lawyer was able

to visit him. During the night of 10 to 11 July 1990, he was beaten, and sustained serious

injuries, which was confirmed by his lawyer. Moreover, while detained in Camp Roux, he was

held under conditions which did not respect the inherent dignity of the human person. After

his arrest, Mr. Bozize was not brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by

law to exercise judicial power, was denied access to counsel, and was not, in due time,

afforded the opportunity to obtain a decision by a court on the lawfulness of his arrest and

detention. The Committee finds that the above amounts to violations by the State party of

articles 7, 9, and 10 in the case.

5.3 The Committee notes that although Mr. Bozize has not yet been tried, his right to a fair

trial has been violated; in particular, his right to be tried within a "reasonable time" under

article 14, paragraph 3(c), has not been respected, as he does not appear to have been tried

at first instance after over four years of detention.

5.4 In respect of a possible violation of article 19 of the Covenant, the Committee notes

that this claim has remained unsubstantiated. The Committee therefore makes no finding of

a violation in this respect.

6. The Human Rights Committee, acting under article 5, paragraph 4, of the Optional

Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is of the view that the facts

before it disclose violations of articles 7, 9, 10 and 14, paragraph 3(c), of the Covenant.

7. The Committee is of the view that Mr. Frangois Bozize is entitled, under article 2,

' paragraph 3(a), of the Covenant, to an effective remedy, including his release and appropriate

compensation for the treatment suffered. The State party should investigate the events

complained of and bring to justice those held responsible for the author's treatment; it further

is under an obligation to take effective measures to ensure that similar violations do not occur

in the future.

. 8. The Committee would wish to receive prompt information on any relevant measures

taken by the State party in respect of the Committee's Views.

[Adopted in English, French and Spanish, the English text being the original version.

Subsequently to be issued also in Arabic, Chinese and Russian as part of the Committee's

annual report to the General Assembly.]