CAT/C/48/D/396/2009
chained to an object and then beaten and left for dead. Subsequently, he was put in a cell
which he shared with two other detainees for a week. During that time, they were forced to
walk on their knees over gritty soil. He was then transferred to the Adidogomé prison,
where the ill-treatment continued. During physical exercise, detainees were beaten if they
showed signs of fatigue or fell. The complainant was forced to do push-ups with sandbags
on his back. After two months of this treatment, the complainant had blood in his urine and
was so seriously ill that he was released.
2.2
On 18 July 1999, talks were held between the opposition (UFC) and the ruling party,
during which it was agreed that the complainant would provide security for Mr. Gilchrist
Olympio, the UFC president, on his journey from the Ghanaian border to the capital.
However, on the eve of the talks, the Ministry of the Interior decided that Togolese forces
should be responsible for ensuring his safety. The UFC security team, made up of
supporters such as the complainant, objected to the Ministry’s decision and clashes broke
out. Faced with the threat of imprisonment, the complainant decided to flee to Ghana. In
2002, he returned to Togo after being introduced to a minister, Mr. H.O. Olympio, who
gave him a signed business card and a permit ensuring his safety.
2.3
During the 2003 elections, the complainant denounced a voter for trying to vote
twice for the Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT) candidate in a polling station. This
led to clashes during which the complainant lost his wallet with the business card and
permit given to him by Mr. H.O. Olympio along with other papers, including his identity
card. Some RPT members subsequently told his wife they were going to kill him. The
complainant therefore decided to leave the country again and take refuge in Benin. He
returned to Togo in January 2004. On 16 April 2005, during a gathering organized by UFC
in Atikomé, the security forces opened fire on the crowd. That evening they went to the
complainant’s home to arrest him, but he was not there. On 28 March 2006, the
complainant and his sister were arrested on their way from Lomé to Agouegan and the
complainant was taken by gendarmes to the office of the head of the Zébé camp. The
complainant was beaten and locked up. During questioning, he was asked about the nature
of his relationship with Mr. H.O. Olympio, who was suspected of instigating an attack on a
gendarmerie camp on 26 February 2006. The complainant was threatened with death and
beaten during his time in detention. On 19 April 2006, the complainant managed to escape
from the prison after his brother-in-law bribed a guard. He went to Ghana, but, as he was
afraid of being detained by the Togolese secret services in Ghana, he fled by plane to Italy
under a false identity. He subsequently travelled to Switzerland, where he arrived on 30
April 2006.
2.4
On 7 November 2006, the complainant’s wife and children were forced to flee to
Benin because they were still facing persecution.
2.5
On 8 September 2006, the Federal Office for Migration rejected the claimant’s
asylum application, maintaining that his testimony was not credible and that the threats had
occurred too far in the past (1999–2002) to establish a well-founded fear of persecution.
The Office also disputed the fact that Mr. H.O. Olympio had been a minister and that the
gendarmerie camp had been attacked on 26 February 2006. The complainant appealed the
decision on 11 October 2006 and filed a document proving that Mr. H.O. Olympio had
been a member of the Government until August 2003 and a newspaper article reporting the
attack on the gendarmerie camp on 26 February 2006. He also produced various UFC
documents confirming his active involvement with the party. In a statement issued on 9
November 2006, the Federal Office for Migration did not dispute that the claimant had been
an active UFC member or that the gendarmerie had been attacked on 26 February 2006.
However, the Office considered that the complainant’s claims that he would be prosecuted
by the Togolese authorities were not credible.
GE.12-43942
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