ECOWAS Court Awards 15m CFA To Guinean Lawyer Over Unlawful Arrest

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS)on Friday, 9th June 2023 ordered the Republic of Guinea to pay Fifteen Million (15 000 000) FCFA to a Guinean lawyer as compensation for the moral damages suffered for the violation of his rights following his arrest along with seven of his clients by agents of the State in 2020.

According to a statement issued by the Communications Division of the Court, the Applicant, Mamoudou Sane told the Court that while exercising his professional obligation and without any legal basis, he was arrested with his clients on the instruction of the Central Director of the Judiciary Police and led under escort to the department de la Police Judiciaire (DPJ) where they were detained before his release after the discovery of his identity as a lawyer.

He further told the Court that following the 24th February 2020 arrest, he filed a complaint against the Central Director of the Judicial Police of the Respondent, which has remained untreated by the Attorney General of the Conakry Court of Appeal.

Consequently, he was forced to file an action before the ECOWAS Court for the violation of his fundamental rights and freedom by the Republic of Guinea, including his right to fair trial through his lawyer, Pepe Antoine Lama, the statement added.

Delivering the Court’s judgment in the suit, the judge Rapporteur, Justice Ricardo Claudio Monteiro Gonçalves, recalled the admission by the respondent of the arrest and detention of the applicant, describing this as a violation of his right to liberty and security, as provided for in Articles 6 of the African Charter, 9(1) of the ICCPR and 3 and 9 of the UDHR. The Court noted that the respondent had dismissed the arrest and detention as “motivated by mere confusion with his clients and that the Applicant was released as soon as his status was established.”

Consequently, the Court held that “ in the absence of any legal basis, this Court considers that the arrest of the Applicant was arbitrary and illegal, since the police authorities had to take care in advance who they had to arrest and why the arrest should have been made, therefore, acting otherwise violated the Applicant’s right to liberty and security under Articles 6 of the African Charter, 9(1) of the ICCPR and 3 and 9 of the UDHR.”