In Togo, there is concern around the state of health of Karrou Wawim, arrested in Lomé at the end of 2018. The country was then experiencing demonstrations, in the context of legislative elections contested by an opposition coalition. For almost 6 years, this man, aged around 40, has been in detention without having been tried, like 13 other people arrested in the same context, according to the Association of Victims of Torture in Togo (Asvitto). Two were released at the start of the year. While Karrou Wawim’s relatives warn that his condition has become worrying, his defenders affirm that his case is not isolated.
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Karrou Wawim was arrested in front of a pharmacy on December 21, 2018. He said he was hit with a rifle butt and subsequently suffered violence. Today, his loved ones are worried, as Atcholi Kao, president of the Association of Victims of Torture in Togo (Asvitto), explains. “ It manifests ageneral weight loss and his stomach is swollen, according to family testimony, with a large lump in his chest, and he has breathing difficulties. For all these people, it is the families who are now managing to take care of their loved ones. »
Karrou Wawim has been detained for almost 6 years, without trial, like other people arrested during this period, during which Togo is experiencing demonstrations by opposition parties against the legislative elections.
Maître Raphael Kpandé Adzaré is the lawyer for several of these people, suspected of disturbing public order or attempting to undermine state security. “ Mr. Karrou Wawim is one of a string of people arrested who were arrested in the context of C14 demonstrations. Since then, they have been in preventive detention and have suffered acts of torture, including electric shocks. Even if it is the case of Karrou Wawim who is emerging today, everyone is really sick. We think they are prisoners of conscience “, he believes.
A year ago, the ECOWAS court ruled in favor of the release of a group of 14 detainees, including Karrou Wawim. To date, this decision has had no effect.
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