Document #1214291
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to International Prison Watch
Report 1996, "political prisoners are detained either at the
headquarters of the [Agence nationale de
sécurité] ANS or the security-branch office of
the national police. They are under strict surveillance and cannot
receive visits" (1996, 45). However, the same report also states
that "corruption is ubiquitous and it would appear to be possible
to leave prison or even to be released by paying the guards a
certain amount of money" (ibid., 45). No specific reference to the
Presidential jail in D'djamena could be found among the sources
consulted by the Research Directorate.
A researcher who specialises in Chad at
Amnesty International's Secretariat in Paris corroborated the
information about corruption during a telephone interview with the
Research Directorate and agreed that it sometimes happens that
political prisoners escape from prisons after bribing the guards
(30 June 1998). Information on the repercussions for jail guards on
duty when political prisoners escape could not be found among the
sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
International Prison Watch.
International Prison Watch Report 1996. 1996. Paris:
International Prison Watch.
Amnesty International Secretariat,
Paris. 30 June 1998. Telephone interview with researcher on
Chad.
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Research Bulletin: Political,
Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. January-May 1998. Vol.
35. Nos. 1-4.
_____. February - December 1997. Vol.
34. Nos. 1-12.
Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch
World Reports. 1990-1998.
Resource Centre. Chad. Country File.
1997-1998.
_____. Chad. Amnesty International File.
1997-1998.
West Africa [London]. January
1997 - May 1998. Nos. 4130-4189.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases,
LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, World News Connection (WNC).