GABON: PRISON UPRISING EXPOSES DEPLORABLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000036 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2019 TAGS: PHUM PGOV GB SUBJECT: GABON: PRISON UPRISING EXPOSES DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS Classified By: Poloff Leslie Doumbia for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) An uprising at Libreville's Central Prison January 19 left three prisoners dead and several wounded before authorities restored order. Trouble started when prisoners took four guards hostage in a protest over filthy living conditions and lengthy pretrial detention. The government's interior, defense and justice ministers hurried to the scene for negotiations with representatives of the prisoners, led by an incarcerated former provincial governor. Negotiations failed and authorities managed to remove two Chinese and one French prisoner before launching an assault to retake the facility. An undetermined number of prisoners escaped during the incident, which cast a sharp light on deplorable conditions at the overcrowded facility. Gabon's new justice minister has promised to investigate the prisoners' concerns. End Summary. -------------- Uprising -------------- ¶2. (U) An undetermined number of the estimated 2800 prisoners at Libreville's Central Prison started an uprising on the morning of January 19. Prisoners took four guards hostage and appointed former provincial governor Mamadou Tsoumou as their spokesman. Tsoumou is in jail awaiting trial on corruption charges. Authorities quickly lost all control of the interior of the prison and prisoners started at least one small fire. ¶3. (U) Gabon's interior, justice and defense ministers rushed to the scene. Interior minister Andrew Mba Obame took the lead in negotiations while defense minister Ali Bongo (son of Gabon's president) coordinated the security response. Newly appointed justice minister Pierette Djouassa was also prsent. ¶4. (C) Tsoumou and other prisoners put forward demands for an end the overcrowded and filthy living conditions and lengthy periods of pre-trail detention. Negotiations soon broke down and authorities ordered a Special Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT) from the gendarmerie to retake the prison and restore order. The gendarmes apparently removed two Chinese and one French prisoner before launching a broader assault. The sequence of events is not clear, but in the ensuing chaos, at least three prisoners were killed and several others wounded. The hostages were released unharmed 
and it appears that no law enforcement or military personnel were injured. ¶5. (C) Sources in the gendarmerie tell us that between 20-30 prisoners escaped during the incident. It is not known whether any have been recaptured. Although the uprising was reported in the Gabonese media, the number of prisoners who escaped and other details of the incident have been withheld. -------------- Deplorable Conditions -------------- ¶6. (C) The incident cast a harsh spotlight on conditions at the Central Prison and other prisons and jails in Gabon. In a meeting with Ambassador January 19, recently detained NGO activists Marc Ona and George Mpaga described the deplorable conditions they witnessed during incarceration (septel). According to Ona and Mpaga, men, women, and some children, incarcerated for offenses ranging from murder to petty theft, are forced to live together in crowded, filthy surroundings where rape, pedophilia, and brutal beatings are common. Prisoners awaiting trail are mixed with convicts, according to the recent detainees. Ona and Mpaga further described how the prisoners must take turns to empty the prison's septic trenches, in an effort that involves submerging oneself up to the chest in excrement to collect bucketfuls of waste to that must be carried to the city's septic removal trucks waiting outside the prison. ¶7. (C) According to the state-owned newspaper l'Union, the prison was originally built in 1956 to hold 300 detainees, and later modified to accommodate 700. According to Minister of Justice Djouassa, the prison now holds approximately 2800 inmates, of whom around 1800 are in pre-trial or provisory detention. Ona and Mpaga claimed that there are inmates who have spent up to 15 years awaiting trial. These prisoners, dubbed the "Sans-Famille" or "Without Family", are believed to have played a lead role in the uprising. LIBREVILLE 00000036 002 OF 002 ¶8. (C) In general, prisoners must rely on influential relatives or friends to push their cases through the system. Relatives also routinely provide supplemental food, mattresses, and medicines. A large number of the prison's population lacks this outside support. -------------- Gabonese Response -------------- ¶9. (U) After the incident, Gabon's newly-appointed minister of justice promised to take the lead in addressing prisoners' concerns. She said her ministry will immediately begin examining the cases of the prisoners to weed out those that should be tried or released on the basis of time served. Djouassa also promised to work with fellow ministries--interior, finance and defense, as well as the prison service--to come up with solutions to overcrowding and other problems. ¶10. (C) Some in the security services apparently believe that former governor Mamadou Tsoumou was the ringleader, and not merely the spokesman, for the uprising. Tsoumou reportedly suffered a minor injury at the time the prison was re-taken. He is in jail for alleged involvement in an organized crime ring in his home province of Haut-Ogooue--the political base of President Bongo. Tsoumou and his family are also rumored to be enemies of defense minister Ali Bongo. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) Conditions in Gabonese prisons and jails are scandalous, but have so far attracted little domestic or international attention. At minimum, this incident will direct some much-needed focus on ameliorating the worst conditions and abuses. The Embassy will encourage UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross and others to take an interest in these issues, and we will seek opportunities to visit and inspect the prisons with diplomatic colleagues. End Comment. REDDICK