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).

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Summary
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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.

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Uprising
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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.

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Deplorable Conditions
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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.

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Gabonese Response
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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.

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Comment
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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