Human rights have suffered a serious setback in the...

Human rights have suffered a serious setback in the aftermath of the May 2001 coup in the Central African Republic. Many people, including former Defence Minister Jean Jacques Demafouth, were arrested for their alleged involvement. The criminal tribunal rendered two verdicts: one in absentia in August and another in September.
Nicolas Tiangaye, a leading CAR lawyer who defended Demafouth and who heads the CAR Human Rights League (Ligue centrafricaine des droits de l'homme) offered his perspective into both the human rights situation and the coup trials in an interview he granted the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).
"The situation of human rights in the CAR has passed through many phases. The current phase is characterised by aggravation of the tension resulting from the May 2001 coup attempt, because, in its aftermath, many people were arrested and others were summarily executed. This was a major concern for human rights groups, both national and international.
"Today, with the recent trials of the alleged coup plotters that resulted in the death sentences passed in absentia and those sentences of between one and 10 years imprisonment, things seems to have moved toward a certain [degree of] normalisation.
"However, elsewhere, such as at police and gendarmerie stations, some abuses like detentions beyond the legal time limits, the [adverse] conditions of detention, and other arbitrary acts are still being applied to peaceful citizens. Also, the OCRB [Office Centrafricain de Repression du Bandites] continues to summarily execute suspected bandits and armed robbers. These, briefly, are the main concerns of human rights organisations."
Asked whether the CAR Human Rights League supports the death penalty, Tiangaye said: "The league has a position of principle: it opposes the death penalty. This is not only the position of our league but also that of all human right groups."
Tiangaye said there is no campaign against the death penalty in the CAR.
"Moreover, a campaign alone is not enough, for one must also to consider the state of society. It is not easy to make people accept that idea [of abolishing capital punishment]. They must be prepared [to accept it], and their level of development must be taken into account. In my opinion, social and economic problems should be resolved before engaging in debates about the death penalty. The preoccupations of Central Africans are elsewhere. People will tell you, 'We need something to eat and survive.' This is a sociological problem that requires mature reflection, and which should not be tackled hurriedly."
Tiangaye refrained from commenting on the verdict in absentia of the criminal court that sentenced former President Andre Kolingba and another person to death.
"I do not like commenting on court decisions. The coup d'etat is condemnable. The Human Rights League condemned it and those who perpetrated it should be brought to justice to answer for their actions. Even if I personally and the league I head oppose the death penalty, this penalty has not yet abrogated from our laws. Our courts thought that this penalty was the one commensurate with the offences the coup plotters are accused of. I cannot comment on that decision."