DIS-MOI (Droits Humains Océan Indien) strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest by the Comorian State of Farhane Attoumani, entrepreneur and Chamoun Soudjay, militant musician and author-composer, members of ‘Mabedja’, an association of the Comorian diaspora in France, on Thursday 26 August.
The Union of Comoros, presided over by Azali Assoumani, has been facing political instability for some time, which could explain this authoritarian drift. The two members of ‘Mabedja’ had planned to organise a peaceful demonstration to denounce the living conditions of their fellow citizens. Shortly after their arrival at the airport on Saturday 21 August, the Prefect of the Centre issued a decree reminding them of the “ban on public gatherings and demonstrations during the Covid 19 period” (24 August 2021). On 26 August, while walking in the streets of Moroni, they were arrested and placed in police custody without the right to be represented by a lawyer. The charges against these two human rights defenders are extremely serious and clearly disproportionate. Dis-Moi calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Farhane Attoumani and Chamoun Soudjay, who are being held in Moroni prison. All DIS-MOI activists living in the IOC (Indian Ocean Commission) countries will campaign for this and follow developments closely. Dis-Moi is a regional organisation in the South West Indian Ocean that campaigns for the respect of human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
