“Worse than Hell”: Death and Torture at Chad’s Koro Toro Prison

By Lewis Mudge

 In April 2021, a transitional military council headed by Mahamat Idriss Déby took control of Chad following the death of his father, late President Idriss Déby Itno. This triggered demonstrations, including by civil society and opposition party members, to demand a return to civilian rule. The authorities violently cracked down on such protests which culminated on October 20, 2022, when thousands of people demonstrated against an extension of the transitional government by two years. On this day, remembered as “black Thursday,” security forces fired live ammunition at protesters, killing and injuring scores. Hundreds more were detained and transferred to Koro Toro, a high security detention facility managed by the government and located about 600 kilometers north of N’Djamena, the country’s capital, in the desert. Some detainees died en route to Koro Toro, others died in the prison. In “Worse than hell”: Death and Torture at Chad’s Koro Toro Prison, Human Rights Watch documents the serious human rights violations experienced by protesters during their transit from N’Djamena to Koro Toro and in the prison itself. Based on interviews with survivors and witnesses as well as on satellite imagery, it exposes abuses that former detainees, including children, detained in connection to the October 20 protests, faced from the start of their detention until their release. These include forced labor, torture and inhuman treatment and denial of medical treatment, sometimes leading to deaths in custody, as well as arbitrary detention and unfair trials. The report provides insight into the deplorable – and unlawful – prison conditions and management at Koro Toro prison and makes recommendations to Chad and its partners for redress.  

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024.  98p.