The Court will deliver judgment on October 27, 2023, in the case in which three Malian citizens suspected of damaging public property allege the violation of their human rights, particularly their right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.
Justice Dupe Atoki, presiding, announced this date during the hearing held on September 25, 2023, after the state of Mali, represented by Mahamadou Sangaré adopted his documents. The applicants were neither present nor represented by their lawyer.In this case, Ismaila HAIDARA, Maître Madina Dème COULIBALY, and Madame Hawa TRAORE, three Malian citizens, accused the State of Mali of not following proper investigative procedures in the case in which they are suspected of serious offenses, including damage to public property and fraudulent bankruptcy.
In the initiating application No: ECW/CCJ/APP/54/21, filed on September 15, 2021, the applicants argued that Malian judicial police officers, acting on behalf of the Respondent, did not allow them to be assisted by legal counsel to defend themselves against the accusations. They contended that this irregularity in the procedure constitutes an “abuse of justice aimed at depriving them of fundamental guarantees related to the right to a fair trial, including the right to defense, an impartial investigation, and adherence to the principle of adversarial proceedings.”
Furthermore, the applicants alleged that during their interrogations as witnesses, agents of the Respondent did not adhere to a reasonable time limit, noting that they were not granted the status of suspects.
Among the requests made, the applicants asked the Court to recognize that the Republic of Mali violated their rights to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence, as provided by international human rights instruments. They also sought the Court’s acknowledgment that their rights to legal counsel, the presumption of innocence, and a fair trial were manifestly violated.
Additionally, they asked the Court to order the State of Mali to put an end to these violations by canceling the acts of the preliminary investigation and other suspicious actions in accordance with the relevant provisions of the criminal procedure code, particularly under Article 206, and to cease prosecution against them.
Finally, they requested the Court to grant each of them the sum of one hundred million CFA francs (100,000,000 FCFA) as compensation for all the damages suffered.
According to the facts, the Applicants recounted that the law firm informed the Attorney General of the District of Bamako of allegations of damage to public property and fraudulent bankruptcy against them. They specified that, at the public prosecutor’s instruction, the Economic and Financial Brigade of the Economic Pool opened a preliminary investigation. Thus, they were questioned on several occasions as witnesses, with the exception of Maître Madina Dème COULIBALY.
However, they stated that in the closing report of the preliminary investigation, serious suspicions against them were upheld, with an order to bring them before the Public Prosecutor for all necessary measures. Based on these contentious investigative elements, the Attorney General referred the case to the Dean of Investigating Judges to initiate formal judicial proceedings, requesting their indictment and provisional detention.
The applicants believe that Malian judicial police officers manipulated the procedure to deprive them of fundamental guarantees related to the right to a fair trial, including the right to defense, an impartial investigation, and the principle of adversarial proceedings.
They also pointed out that the Public Prosecutor retained the minutes of the preliminary investigation in his office for more than a month before presenting his indictment to the Court. They believe that these serious human rights violations should not be tolerated, that is why they have brought the case before the ECOWAS Court of Justice to put an end to them.
In its defense, the Respondent state requested the Court to dismiss the requests and measures sought by the applicants as unfounded.
It also asked the Court to declare that the Republic of Mali did not commit any violations of human rights.
The other judges handling the case include Sengu M. Koroma and Ricardo Claudio Monteiro Gonçalves.
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