Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ACCRA957
2007-05-02 11:21:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Accra
Cable title:  

Embassy Referral for Francis A. Aglamey

Tags:  PREF GH TO 
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VZCZCXYZ0018
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #0957/01 1221121
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021121Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4321
UNCLAS ACCRA 000957 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
FOR PRM/AFR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF GH TO
SUBJECT: Embassy Referral for Francis A. Aglamey

UNCLAS ACCRA 000957

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
FOR PRM/AFR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF GH TO
SUBJECT: Embassy Referral for Francis A. Aglamey


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Embassy Accra hereby refers Mr. Francis A.
Aglamey and his family to the U.S. resettlement program. Mr.
Aglamey took refuge in Ghana in 2006. As Director General Assistant
of the Mission Baptist Hospital in Adeta, he gave orders to treat
the wounded protestors after the April 2005 election in Togo and
took pictures and video tapes of the patients. He initially fled to
Ghana on 17 May 2005; upon his return to Togo on 19 May 2005 he was
arrested and interrogated. After several arrests and threats to his
life he fled to Ghana again with his family in October 2006. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) The referral is for the following persons:

Francis A. Aglamey, DPOB: 31 Dec 1960, Zanve, Togo
Assibe Assogba (wife),DPOB: 30 May 1971, Lome
Xavier M. Aglamey (son),DPOB: 27 Jun 1983, Agouegan
Godman K. Aglamey (son),DPOB: 24 Jun 1993, Lome
Bright A. Aglamey (daughter),DPOB: 30 May 1971, Lome


3. (SBU) Mr. Aglamey is a member of the opposition party "Union des
Forces de Changement" (UFC) and is of Mina ethnicity. He started
working at the Baptist hospital in 1998. In October 2003, after he
handed out yellow tee-shirts representing the color of the UFC, one
of the hospital staff was beaten. Mr. Aglamey went to see Prefect
Konte Watarma about the incident and was told that he should be the
one who should be beaten, because the hospital was run by him, an
opposition member.


4. (SBU) In April 2005, 26 wounded protesters sought treatment at
the Baptist hospital, because they had been refused treatment at the
public hospital. It appears that those protestors had burned the
government office in the area in protest. Mr. Aglamey gave orders
to treat them all and ook videos and pictures of the wounded
protester. Mr. Aglamey claims that the Prefect of the distict was
informed of the treatment ofthe protesters by a nurse at the
hospital. The following day, police officer Combate of Adate
informed Mr. Aglamey that the Prefect was sending soldiers to arrest
him, and advised him to flee.


5. (SBU) In May 2005 he returned to Togo to find out why soldiers
were seeking him. He was sent to the President of Justice in
Kpalime, who in turn sent him to the Procurator of the court in
Kpalime. On 19 May 2005, Mr. Aglamey was arrested and interrogated
as to why he took pictures of the wounded and who burned the
government office. As he was released, he was again threatened and
told that his license plate number was known. In the evening of 10
June 2005, he was stopped near a traffic light at College St. Joseph
and upon leaving his car, he was beaten. He went for treatment at
the hospital of Be.


6. (SBU) On 12 and 23 January 2006, Mr. Aglamey was called to the
office of the Chief of Gendarmes and told to stop firing hospital
staff who sympathized with the ruling RPT. Mr. Aglamey replied he
had to let them go because the had stolen goods from the hospital
and not because they were RPT. On 7 February 2006, he was arrested
and forced to sign false allegations. His house was searched
without any warrant and video cassettes, photos, and documents were
taken.


7. (SBU) On 8 February 2006, the judge ordered him to be released,
yet a few hours later he was arrested again. The next night
soldiers drove Mr. Aglamey into the bush, presumably to kill him,
but then took him to Lome where he was imprisoned again. The
interrogators wanted to know if Mr. Aglamey had saved copies of the
videos he took and if he had sent photos or videos to any NGO or
Western organization.


8. (SBU) On 13 February 2006, Mr. Aglamey was released after
pressure from the Human Rights Counselor and his church, but a few
days later he was forced to resign from his position at the hospital
and fled to Ghana. In July 2006, he returned to Togo, living in
hiding and in August returned to Adeta, to try and get his job back.
He was warned that RPT members were out to kill him. When he
received yet another threatening letter, he again fled to Ghana with
his family on 28 October 2006.


9. (SBU) Post has had intermittent contact with the refugee over the
past 6 months. Mr. Harry Ward, a U.S. citizen who served as General
Director of the Hospital and was Mr. Aglamey's supervisor from
2001-06, has supported Mr. Aglamey's account of the events.
Political Assistant Jean-Pierre Koffi Dessou from the American
Embassy Lome confirmed that Mr. Aglamey had reported the harassment
based on his political activities in 2003, and said harassment was
also confirmed by UFC and local journalists. Mr. Dessou also
confirmed that Mr. Aglamey was harassed during the elections in
2005, which culminated in his imprisonment.


10. (SBU) Currently the Aglameys receive no humanitarian assistance.
Their children are not attending school because the family cannot
afford the tuition at Accra's private French-language school. Mr.
Aglamey claims he has sold his wife's personal jewelry and other
family possessions in order to feed his family.


11. (SBU) Embassy Lome has no objections to this referral.

BRIDGEWATER