Reacting to the sentencing by the Ivorian courts on April 8 of a unionist to two years’ imprisonment for “coalition of public officials” and “obstructing the operation of the public service,” Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said:
“Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Ghislain Duggary Assy, Communications Secretary of the Movement of Teachers for the Dignity Dynamic (Mouvement des Enseignants pour la Dynamique de la Dignité) union. All charges against him must be dropped.
“The strike notice, sent to the Ministry of Education on March 21 in compliance with legal procedure, announced a strike on April 3 and 4, and resulted in this conviction and a dozen of arrests, which constitute a flagrant violation of workers’ fundamental rights, in particular the right to strike and freedom of association, guaranteed by the Ivorian Constitution and international conventions ratified by Côte d’Ivoire.
“Teachers cannot be treated as criminals for exercising their fundamental rights. The authorities must respect and guarantee the human rights of everyone in the country, including the right to freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right to a fair trial.”
Background
Two inter-union organizations had called for a strike action in primary and secondary schools in Côte d’Ivoire, demanding, among other things, the upgrading of quarterly bonuses.
According to Ghislain Duggary Assy’s lawyer, the unionist was arrested on the night of April 2 to 3 by hooded men at his home. He was questioned the same night at the police headquarters in the absence of a lawyer. He had then access to a lawyer at the public prosecutor’s office before being placed under a committal order by the public prosecutor.
In a statement issued on April 5, the Ministry of the Public Administration called the strike illegal and threatened to punish the striking teachers. On April 8, a dozen members of the striking inter-union board were arrested, then released a few hours later.
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