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Souleymane Guengueng, a torture victim and award-winning human rights activist from Chad, has been fired from his position with the World Bank-backed Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), Human Rights Watch says. The Commission apparently took the measure in reprisal for his campaign to bring to justice the former dictator of Chad, Hissene Habre.

Chadian Activist Fired by International Agency
Victim Leads Fight to Try Ex-Dictator Hissene Habre

(New York, September 30, 2003) - Souleymane Guengueng, a torture victim and
award-winning human rights activist from Chad, has been fired from his
position with the World Bank-backed Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), Human
Rights Watch said today. The Commission apparently took the measure in
reprisal for his campaign to bring to justice the former dictator of Chad,
Hissene Habre.

With negotiations to re-instate Mr. Guengueng having just broken down, human
rights groups called on the World Bank, the United Nations Development
Program and the governments of the Chad Basin region to press for Mr.
Guengueng's immediate, unconditional reinstatement.

"Souleymane Guengueng should be honored - not punished - for fighting for
justice,"
said Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch, which last November bestowed
Souleymane Guengueng with its highest award. "We will use all the legal
and political means at our disposal to help this brave man get his job
back."

Chadian organizations lauded Mr. Guengueng's struggle and called on the
Chadian government to stand up for him. "Souleymane Guengueng is a
national treasure," said Dobian Assingar, president of the Chadian human
rights league (LTDH) and vice-president of the International Federation of
Human Rights Leagues (FIDH). "The government of Chad needs to stand up for
him."

Souleymane Guengueng, who almost died of dengue fever during two and a half
years of mistreatment in Habre's prisons, founded the Chadian Association of
Victims of Political Repression and Crime (AVCRP), to record and publicize
the atrocities of Habre's regime (1982-1990) and to bring Habre and his
accomplices to justice. Habre now lives in exile in Senegal, where he was
indicted three years ago on charges of torture and crimes against humanity.
Habre's victims are now seeking his extradition from Senegal to stand trial
in Belgium. Guengueng and his colleagues have also brought criminal
proceedings against Habre's henchmen who remain in powerful positions in
Chad. (Background on Mr. Guengueng can be found at
www.hrw.org/press/2002/11/hrdefender-chad1107.htm)

Ever since a Belgian judge visited Chad last year to investigate the charges
against Habre, the LCBC has sought to curtail Souleymane Guengueng's struggle
for justice. In March 2002, just after the judge's visit, the LCBC suspended
Mr. Guengueng for 30 days without pay and threatened him with further
sanctions unless he renounced his activities with the AVCRP. On November 14,
2002, the LCBC's director signed a letter dismissing Mr. Guengueng from his
position as an archivist. However, the LCBC withheld the letter from Mr.
Guengueng until two months later, only days after it secured a $ 2.9 million
World Bank contribution on January 22, 2003. When the World Bank made
inquiries into the case, it was told by the Commission that Mr. Guengueng had
been fired because of a labor dispute. Negotiations to re-instate Mr.
Guengueng have just broken down, Brody said.

"The World Bank should not let itself be hoodwinked by the LCBC," said Brody.
"It has the leverage to reverse Souleymane's firing and to stop human rights
activists being silenced and bullied on its watch."

The Lake Chad Basin Commission, which comprises five neighboring states
(Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Central African Republic), was
established in 1964 to encourage cooperation in developing the Lake Chad
region and to attract financial and technical assistance for research. In
addition to the World Bank, it is financed by the United Nations Development
Program, the African Development Bank, the World Wildlife Fund and the Ramsar
Convention Bureau.

Mr. Guengueng said that he would not be deterred by the firing. "I have been
tortured, my friends have died in my arms," said Mr. Guengueng. "Firing me is
not going to make me give up the quest for justice."

Human Rights Watch asked the World Bank to intervene in this case, and the
Bank made both formal and informal inquiries with the LCBC before concluding
that "Mr. Guengueng was officially warned in writing several times for extra-
curricular activities (which include public statements) deemed incompatible
with his status as an international civil servant." However, Human Rights
Watch noted that international law, the rules governing international civil
servants and the LCBC's own Personnel Rules permit and protect the non-
political exercise of freedom of expression and association, including Mr.
Guengueng's quest for justice for himself and other victims.

Background on the Hissene Habre case:
Hissene Habre ruled the former French colony of Chad from 1982 until he was
deposed in 1990 by current President Idriss Deby and fled to Senegal. His one-
party regime, marked by widespread atrocities, was backed by the United
States and France. A 1992 truth commission accused Habre's regime of some
40,000 political murders and systematic torture.

Habre was indicted in Senegal three years ago on charges of torture and
crimes against humanity before the Senegalese courts ruled that he could not
be tried there. Habre's victims are now seeking his extradition to stand
trial in Belgium, and Senegal has agreed to hold him pending an extradition
request. A Belgian judge visited Chad in February and March 2002 to
investigate the charges against Habre. In October 2002, the Chadian
government formally waived any immunity that Habre might seek to assert. The
case against Habre was brought under Belgium's "universal jurisdiction" law
that allowed prosecution of the worst atrocities no matter where they were
committed. In July, under pressure from the United States, Belgium repealed
that law, but the ongoing Habre case was not affected. The Belgian judge is
expected to move forward soon with an extradition request for Habre.

Guengueng and his colleagues have also brought criminal proceedings against
dozens of Habre's henchmen, many of whom are still in positions of power in
Chad. The victims face dangers in their quest. The victims' Chadian lawyer,
Jacqueline Moudeina, was severely injured in a grenade attack apparently
ordered by a Habre-era security official now a police chief, and several
victims have been threatened. More information on the case against Hissene
Habre can be found at http://www.hrw.org/justice/habre/