Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAMAKO112
2009-02-24 16:56:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES IN KITA DISCUSS 2008 CHILD

Tags:  PHUM KCRM KJUS KTIP PGOV ML 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1216
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0112/01 0551656
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241656Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0060
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000112 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP VERONICA ZEITLIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KJUS KTIP PGOV ML
SUBJECT: JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES IN KITA DISCUSS 2008 CHILD
TRAFFICKING CASE

REF: A. 08 BAMAKO 00312

B. 08 BAMAKO 00707

C. BAMAKO 00077
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000112

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP VERONICA ZEITLIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KJUS KTIP PGOV ML
SUBJECT: JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES IN KITA DISCUSS 2008 CHILD
TRAFFICKING CASE

REF: A. 08 BAMAKO 00312

B. 08 BAMAKO 00707

C. BAMAKO 00077

1.(SBU) Summary: In a meeting with the Embassy on February
11, the public prosecutor and trial court judges from the
western town of Kita discussed the March 2008 arrest and
ongoing prosecution of three child traffickers. Our
discussion underscored the level of confusion surrounding
this case as the prosecutor and judges originally maintained
that the three traffickers had been transferred to the prison
in Kayes, when in fact a local judge granted the traffickers
pre-trial release just a few months after their arrest in

2008. The prosecutor later amended his response to confirm
that, in fact, the three suspects remain on provisional bail,
their specific whereabouts likely unknown. Discussing other
matters of concern, the jurists described the dangers of the
broad powers accorded rural Malian Justices of the Peace, the
evident lack of attorneys outside of Bamako, and the need to
build adequate prisons in rural locales. End Summary.

--------------
Child Trafficking Case Confusion
--------------

2.(SBU) On February 11 the public prosecutor for the Circle
of the western town of Kita and four of Kita's five sitting
judges on the local trial court met with the Embassy to
discuss the 2008 case of three individuals suspected of child
trafficking. The three suspects, with 26 children in their
control, were arrested by authorities in Kita in March 2008
(Ref. A). All but two of these children were trafficked from
neighboring Guinea and were repatriated through assistance
from the Malian government and local NGOs. A few months
later, however, a Malian judge in Kita released the three
trafficking suspects from custody pending trial (Ref. B).
Nearly one year after their arrest, no trial date has been
set and the three suspects remain at large.

3.(SBU) Kita's new public prosecutor, Husseini Cisse,
initially told the Embassy on February 11 that the same group
of three traffickers had not been released but rather
transferred to a prison in the regional capital of Kayes to
await judgment and sentencing. When pressed by the Embassy
for further details, however, Mr. Cisse conferred with his

deputy and then corrected this statement, agreeing that, in
fact, the suspects been released pending trial in 2008. Mr.
Cisse's assistant added that the investigating judge at the
time decided that no crime had been committed but that Mr.
Cisse's predecessor, Mahamoud Mauloud Najim, disagreed with
this decision and reintroduced the charges, on behalf of the
Malian government, with the Court of Appeals in Kayes. When
asked about the current whereabouts of the three trafficking
suspects, Mr. Cisse and his deputy confirmed that the
individuals were no longer in Kita. They said the suspects
were believed to be located in a neighborhood on the
outskirts of Bamako but could provide no further details.

--------------
Judge and Jury: Rural Justices of the Peace
--------------

4.(SBU) Four of Kita's five sitting judges explained to the
Embassy what they described as the dangers of rural Justices
of the Peace - an innovation which enables one individual to
serve as prosecutor, judge, and jury. Mali relies on
Justices of the Peace in underserved rural areas as a
substitute for trial courts. The Kita judges complained that
Justices of the Peace wield too much power and said Mali
needed to urgently revisit this system. The judges noted
that the inadequacies of the Justice of the Peace system was
well known to Malian Ministry of Justice and legal
professionals and said Mali was hoping to establish enough
trial courts to serve all of Mali's communes, thereby paving
the way for the eventual elimination of the Justice of the
Peace system. With 703 local communes, however, Mali's trial
court project is likely an extremely long-term endeavor.

--------------
Shortage of Lawyers
--------------

5.(SBU) Kita's judges and prosecutor also raised access to
the justice system in rural areas as a serious human rights
concern. Most rural Malians, they noted, have limited and
inadequate access to legal recourse due, in large part, of a
dearth of lawyers in rural areas and the inability of local
Malians to afford the few lawyers that are available (Ref.
C). The judges and prosecutor in Kita observed that there is

BAMAKO 00000112 002 OF 002


not a single lawyers office in Kita, which is one of the
largest towns in western Mali. According to a 1998 census,
an estimated 280,000 people live within the Administrative
Circle of Kita. Only residents with sufficient means to hire
an attorney from Bamako are represented by an attorney in
court in Kita. The jurists admitted that the majority of
litigants in their court represent themselves. This is
significant, the jurists explained, because Malian judges are
generally not allowed to apply relevant law - such as
international treaties - to a case unless the litigant
advances the argument.

6.(SBU) One of the Kita judges suggested that the Malian
government could easily solve the lack of rural access to
lawyers if it so desired. First, the government could
provide a financial incentive to lawyers willing to work in
rural areas. Or, as an alternative the government could
require that all new attorneys graduating from faculties of
law work in rural areas for a certain period of time as a
prerequisite for entering the profession of law.

7.(SBU) The jurists also explained the role of customary
(traditional) law in the Malian judicial system.
Essentially, the written law always trumps a conflicting rule
of customary law, but written law frequently makes reference
to customary law and directs that the resolution of certain
types of conflicts be resolved by the rules of customary law
in the region in question. This is particularly true for
disputes over land ownership and inheritance. Furthermore,
customary law can be used to fill gaps in the written law -
to provide a means of decision for a judge who would
otherwise be called upon to fill the gap with his personal
preference. Customary law is, therefore, considered a
legitimate source of law in Mali, alongside the written law.

--------------
Prison Conditions Inadequate
--------------

8.(SBU) The Kita jurists expressed concern that the prison
facilities in Kita were inadequate. Specifically, although
women and children are housed in cells separate from the men,
Kita does not have a separate prison for women and children,
as does Bamako. The jurists stated that this is a concern
"for anyone who cares about human rights" and obliquely
suggested that a western power might have the means to
finance the construction of a new facility, since Mali itself
lacks the resources. One of the Kita judges suggested that
an exchange or training program for Malian lawyers and judges
would be beneficial, allowing the Malian judge to learn the
mechanics of another system of justice, and to take away from
that experience "a synthesis" of the best of both worlds.

--------------
Comment: Easier Said than Done
--------------

9.(SBU) The three child traffickers arrested in March 2008
remain at large and it is unclear when, if ever, they will be
called to account. A plan to eventually retire the Justice
of the Peace system is a positive move, although Mali's
chronic shortage of funds makes it unlikely that this system
will be scrapped anytime soon. Nevertheless, it is
reassuring that Malian jurists and authorities recognize the
threat posed by investing the powers of indictment,
prosecution, and judgment in one single individual. The same
likely holds for the shortage of lawyers in rural areas and
improvement of rural detention centers - recognizing the
problem is one thing, but finding the resources and political
will to address the issue is something entirely different.
MILOVANOVIC