Gambiaj.com – (ABUJA, Nigeria) – The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has delivered a judgment in favor of Togolese businesswoman Afanvi Akuyo, finding the Republic of Togo guilty of multiple human rights violations and ordering appropriate redress.

The case, numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/29/22, stemmed from Akuyo’s arrest on May 27, 2020, by officers of the National Police Intervention Group (GIPN). She was taken from her home in a violent and humiliating manner in front of her children.

Following her arrest, she was detained at the GIPN camp without contact with her family and deprived of menstrual hygiene products. She was later transferred to the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ), where her image was broadcast on national television as a suspected fraudster.

During her six-month detention, Akuyo appeared before a judge only once, and her repeated requests for provisional release were denied. She was eventually freed on May 5, 2021, after a partial judicial ruling.

In its judgment, the ECOWAS Court found that Togo had violated Akuyo’s right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, as stipulated in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The court also ruled that her right to liberty and personal security had been breached due to her prolonged arbitrary detention.

The court emphasized that the conditions of Akuyo’s detention amounted to a severe violation of her dignity, citing her deprivation of hygiene products, forced sleeping conditions on the floor, and being held in the same facility as male detainees.

As a remedy, the court ordered the Togolese government to pay Akuyo 30 million CFA francs in compensation for the harm suffered.

Additionally, the court mandated that Togo implement measures to prevent similar human rights violations in the future, in alignment with its international obligations. This judgment marks another situation where the State of Togo is found violating its citizen’s rights.

The judgment was delivered by a panel of three judges: Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves (Presiding Judge and Judge Rapporteur), Honourable Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma, and Honourable Justice Dupe Atoki.

The ruling marks a significant moment in the ECOWAS Court’s oversight of human rights in the region, reinforcing the principle that states must uphold the rights and dignity of individuals in their custody.