Amnesty International was concerned about the imprisonment
of prisoners of conscience. No new "disappearance" cases were reported
to Amnesty International during 1985 but the organization remained concerned
about the government's failure to investigate allegations that at least seven
people had either "disappeared" or been executed extrajudicially
between 1977 and 1984. A prominent political opponent of the government was assassinated
abroad. The government denied responsibility for the killing but there were
allegations of official involvement.
Amnesty International adopted as a prisoner of conscience
Jean Dingwall, a businessman detained without trial since September 1984 Under
the Preservation of Public Security (Detention) Regulations Which allow
indefinite detention without trial with no right to challenge the order in court.
Jean Dingwall was apparently detained On suspicion of organizing political opposition,
including a nonviolent demonstration which took place on 30 September 1984. He had
previously been detained without trial in 1979 and between 1981 and 1983. It
was the first time that he had been adopted by Amnesty International, although
his detention had been investigated by Amnesty International once before.
Nine other prisoners of conscience were among a group of
some 20 people detained in May and June for possessing or distributing literature
criticizing the government. All but nine of those detained were soon released
but three, two of whom were brothers, Joachim and Robin Sullivan, were still held
untried at the end of 1985. Two other people were sentenced to a year's
imprisonment in November but were released in December after remission for good
conduct. Another four people were sentenced to suspended terms of imprisonment
by the Supreme Court at a separate hearing in November but were not released
until the next month. They included Andre Barallon, a stevedore, and Bernard
Racombo, a former police Officer.
In another case, Amnesty International adopted as a prisoner
of Conscience a known opponent of the government who was sentenced to
imprisonment on criminal charges which appeared to have been fabricated for
political reasons. Royce Dias was arrested in December 1984 and charged with
possessing cannabis. He was tried by the Seychelles Supreme Court and convicted
on 27 June. He was sentenced to seven and a half years' imprisonment, reduced
on appeal in October to five years'. Before his arrest, Royce Dias had on several
occasions been publicly named by President France-Albert Rene as an enemy of
the government. He was also known to have expressed critical views about the
government in press interviews. Royce Dias claimed in court that the cannabis
had been placed in his car by an officer of the Police Mobile Unit, a paramilitary
force whose duties do not normally include traffic control or criminal Investigation.
The officer concerned denied this but Amnesty International noted that he was
alleged to have harassed and intimidated political suspects on other occasions.
In July Amnesty International appealed for the government to
establish an impartial inquiry into the fate of at least seven people reported
to have been abducted by the security forces for political reasons between 1977
and 1984. In each of the seven cases Amnesty International had received
detailed allegations about the abductions, including in some cases the names of
the security officers said to have carried them out. The organization had also
received allegations that police inquiries into the "disappearances"
had been obstructed by the authorities. Moreover, the family of the person who
had "disappeared" most recently - Alton Ah-Time, said to have been abducted
and killed in September 1984 on account of his opposition to the government -
was harassed. In May 1985 three of Alton Ah-Time's brothers - George, Wilhelm
and Peter Ah-Time – were detained, assaulted and subsequently released by the
security forces. Amnesty International drew these "disappearances" or
extrajudicial executions to the attention of the UN Working Group on Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances and the UN Special Rapporteur on summary or
arbitrary executions. However, by the end of 1985 the authorities were not
known to have established any inquiry or to have issued any response.
On 29 November Gerard Hoarau, President of the exiled Seychelles
National Movement, was killed by an unknown assailant outside his house in
London. The Seychelles' authorities issued a statement deploring his murder and
dissociating themselves from it. However, Amnesty International noted that the
authorities had claimed to have kept Gerard Hoarau under surveillance for at
least three years, and that several sources, including Gerard Hoarau himself
shortly before his death, had claimed that the government had conspired to kill
him while he was abroad. Amnesty International subsequently received allegations
that his eventual murder was carried out with the complicity of the Seychelles
Government.
