A/HRC/22/33
“The morning after 30 April, a manhunt began among the members of the
thirty-third regiment of paratroopers who were taken to the headquarters of Captain
Sanogo in Kati where they received death threats, were then filmed at ORTM9 and
subsequently severely beaten. Two of my brothers in arms died instantly. On 1 May,
at around 2 a.m., a detachment of soldiers arrived. They did the roll call of 20
soldiers and a non-commissioned officer, all of whom were red beret soldiers. They
were tied up in pairs and then taken away in a truck. Since then, we have had no
news of them. I was saved following a conversation about what to do with me
between a captain and a sergeant-major who thought I was dying, as I had been
severely tortured and had head wounds.”
48.
The Mission was unable to determine the whereabouts of 21 soldiers who went
missing in Kati. The military authorities questioned confirmed that the soldiers had in fact
disappeared, but that did not mean that they were dead. The Mission was also informed
that, on 2 May 2012, members of the army allegedly entered the Gabriel Touré Hospital in
Bamako where they abducted a dozen seriously injured soldiers and took them to an
unknown destination.
49.
According to several corroborating sources, on 9 September 2012, in the
municipality of Diabali, a detachment of the Malian army allegedly executed a group of 16
pilgrims of the Dawa brotherhood, some of whom were Mauritanian nationals. According
to the Ministry of Justice, this case is being handled by the military authorities. However,
the authorities referred the Mission to the civil justice system. The Mission has been unable
to determine what progress has been made with the investigation into these incidents or
whether any court (civil or military) is dealing with the matter. Mauritania apparently
announced that three experts have been dispatched to investigate the incident, together with
the Malian authorities. Similarly, the Mission has been unable to obtain reliable information
on the alleged execution by the military of at least six Tuareg civilians in a village near
Diabali on 21 October 2012.
B.
Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
50.
In the aftermath of the counter-coup, on 30 April 2012, members of the police force
were subjected to ill-treatment on the premises of the Mobile Security Unit of the police
force. Police officers and military personnel were transferred and incarcerated at the Kati
military camp, where they were subjected to death threats, beatings and serious injuries.
Some were hurled onto their stomach, with their hands and feet handcuffed behind them in
what is often referred to as the “bicycle position”, and kicked hard in their genitals in order
to extract information.
51.
At the Kati military camp, 83 soldiers and members of the military — the alleged
perpetrators of the counter-coup — were crammed into the underground cell known as “the
Pit”, “the Fall” and “the Hole”, in sweltering heat, without any light or contact with the
outside world, in unsanitary conditions, with two toilets overflowing with excrement and
worms. The Mission was informed that some soldiers held at the military camp in Kati
were apparently forced by the camp leaders to have sex with each other while their captors
filmed the scene with amusement. The same soldiers stubbed cigarettes on different parts of
their victims’ bodies. During the initial days of imprisonment, all 83 prisoners were allowed
only one can of water and one portion of rice. On certain days they were obliged to choose
between eating and drinking. Others had no choice but to drink their own urine or that of
other fellow prisoners.
9
14
Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision du Mali (Malian Television Broadcasting Office).
GE.13-10067
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