Article
Madagascar: Two arrested human rights defenders provisionally released after demonstrators accept to sign agreement with mining company
"Madagascar - THE TWO PROTESTORS OF TOLAGNARO FORT-DAUPHIN HAVE OBTAINED PROVISIONAL FREEDOM BUT HAVE SUFFERED VIOLATIONS OF THEIR RIGHTS", 3 November 2021
We learned yesterday that
- On November 1, authorities took advantage of the absence of the two spokespersons held by the Gendarmerie to encourage the demonstrators to negotiate an agreement between the Governor, the representatives of Rio Tinto QMM and the representatives of the associations of the communities that had organized the demonstration of October 30;
- In addition to their initial claims for compensation following the destruction of their sources of income from the installation of the Rio Tinto company, the protesters demanded the release of their two spokespersons held. The governor and the Rio Tinto company are committed to looking closely at the situation of the communities and their compensations and demanded them to lift the barricade and halt demonstrations. A committee bringing together the three entities will be set up. An agreement was signed and the barricade was been lifted.
- On the morning of November 2, the two detainees were to be presented to the Fort-Dauphin prosecutor's office. The officials made them walk between the Gendarmerie and the court in one of the busiest streets on foot, handcuffed together and framed by gendarmes like criminals. Passers-by stopped to watch them. The friends of Eugene and Simon, who wanted to keep proof of this act of humiliation, saw their cameras and smartphones seized by law enforcement. Only some people who acted discretely have managed to keep pictures. In the afternoon of November 2, the hearing was held in the presence of a lawyer for the detainees. The defendants have been granted provisional release and a next Court hearing is scheduled for the end of this month.
- The doctor proposed by the family never received authorization to make the report on beating marks on Eugene, who was also not taken to the hospital for the report and second opinion.
Like all citizens in concerned with justice and respect for human rights vis-à-vis defenders of community interests, we will closely follow the rest of the events and keep you informed.