In a landmark ruling, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court has directed the Togolese Republic to promptly release Mr. Adam Latif and 13 other individuals who were apprehended in December 2018 during anticipated demonstrations and have remained in custody since then.
The applicants lodged a complaint, asserting that the Togolese Republic violated their fundamental rights. In a verdict issued on November 30 by Justice Ricardo Claúdio Monteiro Gonçalves, who served as the judge rapporteur, the Court mandated the payment of 30 million CFA francs to each applicant as compensation for the moral damage suffered due to the infringement of their rights.
The court held that the Respondent State violated the human rights of the applicants by subjecting them to torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, as well as arbitrarily detaining them.
However, the West African Court absolved the Respondent from responsibility for violating the presumption of innocence, citing the absence of arguments consistent with the meaning of the right to the presumption of innocence in the applicants’ allegations.
In the lawsuit with reference ECW/CCJ/APP/09/22, Adam Latif and 13 others filed an application against the Togolese Republic, alleging violations of their rights to physical and mental integrity following their arrests by state security forces. The infringements cited included torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, as well as violations of the right to the presumption of innocence.
The applicants contended that their arrests took place during planned demonstrations in December 2018, driven by the Togolese authorities’ failure to implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and the recommendations of the Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (CVJR) – a reformative accord involving the ruling party, opposition, and civil society.
Despite the non-occurrence of the demonstrations, the detainees were arrested, charged, and allegedly subjected to coercive acts to extract confessions. They argued that these incidents, coupled with prolonged pre-trial detention, compromised their presumption of innocence and highlighted the misuse of the judicial system for political purposes.
The applicants reported the alleged violations to the investigating judge, emphasizing the need for an impartial investigation in line with the United Nations Convention against Torture. However, their reports were dismissed, and requests for provisional release were consistently denied, even after interventions by the Court of Appeal.
The detainees informed the court that their appeals to the Minister of Justice and the Head of State were futile, asserting that they were being held for political reasons. In their plea to the ECOWAS Court, they sought immediate release and urged the Togolese Republic to conduct effective investigations to prosecute those responsible for the alleged violations. They also sought compensation of 250 million CFA francs each for the endured sufferings resulting from torture, arbitrary detention, and the infringement of their rights to the presumption of innocence.
During its September 25, 2023 session, the Court dismissed the defense submitted by the Togolese Republic after a year, citing a violation of article 35 of the Rule of Procedure, which requires defenses to be lodged within one month after the service of the application.
In its analysis, the Court found that the Respondent failed to fulfill its obligations to protect the applicants against abuses resulting from the actions of its agents, as outlined in Article 1 of the African Charter and Article 2 of the Convention against Torture. The Court held that the Respondent did not demonstrate the adoption of adequate measures to guarantee an independent and effective investigation into the complaints filed by the applicants.
The three-member panel consisted of Justices Edward Amoako Asante, presiding, Ricardo Claúdio Monteiro Gonçalves, judge rapporteur, and Gbéri-bè Ouattara, member.
