Basile Mahan Gahé, general secretary of the national trade union center Dignité (whose food and hotel section is affiliated to the IUF) was kidnapped from his Abidjan home on April 26, 2011 and held without charges. Amnesty International believes it has credible reports that he was tortured, particularly in the early days of his detention.
On June 2, he was visited by an ILO mission which included Mody Guiro, ITUC African regional president/ITUC vice-president. For the mission, Gahé was transferred from his police cell to the Hotel Pergola (transformed into a detention center). The mission over, the prosecutor brought charges - reportedly involving sedition and armed action against the state. - and had him transferred on July 9 to the remote location in the northeast.
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has repeatedly called for national reconciliation - yet a national trade union leader is being illegally held under bogus charges. All of the country's trade union organizations, other national and international trade union organizations have called for his release. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner at risk of torture.
Act now! -- click here to send a message [1] to President Ouattara (with copies to Ivory Coast embassies in France and Belgium) calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Basile Mahan Gahé.
We also urge you to send copies of your message to the Ivory Coast diplomatic representation in your country and to the Ivory Coast's Interior and Justice ministers:
Minister of Interior
Hamed Bakayoko
Ministry of Interior
Abidjan
Côte d'Ivoire
Fax: +225 20 32 32 27
Minister of Justice
Me Jeannot Kouadio Ahoussou
Ministry of Justice
Abidjan
Côte d'Ivoire
Fax: +225 20 21 85 10