Set your location:

Charity case 'too big for us'

2007-11-18 12:07

Abeche - The local court that first took on a tangled child abduction scandal involving a French charity is a bare-bones affair: a single prosecutor, no clerk, no computers - and no defence lawyers.

"I've always felt the case was too big for a place like ours," said the prosecutor in question, Ahmad Daoud Chari, sitting in his tiny, shabby office in the law court of Abeche, the eastern Chadian city thrown into the international spotlight last month after Chadian authorities stopped French charity Zoe's Ark from flying 103 African children from Chad to France.

Initially involving 17 Europeans and four Chadians, the case was quickly transferred from Abeche to the country's capital, N'Djamena.

Eleven of the Europeans have since been released, but the Chadians and six French members of Zoe's Ark remain in jail as an investigation into alleged child abduction unfolds.

But Abeche's brief connection casts a bleak spotlight on this city's woefully inadequate justice system, in a region where vendettas and the seeming impunity of powerful figures reign.

"A number of the cases that we get are very serious ones: murders, assassinations, rapes, kidnappings," said Chari, a slender man with a soft voice and steady smile.

Short of hiring a lawyer in N'Djamena, the accused assume their own defence - a tall order in a region where many have scant knowledge of modern judicial proceedings.

Only Chad's criminal chamber brings attorneys along when it sits in Abeche, which occurs several times a year.

Not only lawyers are missing.

The court has no computer, no typewriter, no photocopy machine. No clerk either one recent day - the current one was out sick and the replacement had joined one of region's numerous rebel movements.

So it is Chari who fills in, armed with administrative documents and carbon copy paper.

"A large part of my time is devoted to administrative work," the prosecutor said.

The penury of human and material resources translates into a sluggish justice system, says Ramadan Ahmat, local representative for The Association for the Promotion of Fundamental Liberties in Chad (APLFT), one of Chad's main human rights groups.

"People are incarcerated for many years and complain of never getting a hearing," Ahmat said.

The rights group offers advice and help to local residents, many of whom turn to traditional forms of justice.

Delivering justice the modern way can also be a dangerous affair.

Described by one observer as "an honest and courageous man," prosecutor Chari regularly receives threats as he tries to destroy the virtual impunity enjoyed by so-called "untouchables" - notably members of the military and police and high-level officials.

- SAPA

inside news24

Weather
Traffic
Lottery
Cpt: 18-26°C Sunny. Mild. Pta: 15-29°C Showers late. Morning clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Jhb: 14-27°C Showers late. Broken clouds. Mild. Bloem: 13-29°C Sunny. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 23-28°C Tstorms late. Partly sunny. Warm. PE: 18-27°C Sunny. Mild.
7 day forecasts...

Jobs - Find your dream job

Teller

Gauteng
First National Bank

Company Legal Liaison Manager

Western Cape
West Coast Personnel
R500,000-600,000 Per AnnumBased On Experience Cost To Company Negotiable

Financial Accountant CA (SA)

Gauteng - JHB North/Sandton
Network Finance Menlyn
R650,000-700,000 Per Annum

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2006 Audi A8 4.2 Quattro Tiptronic
67000kms / Quartz Grey / R379 000

AUDI

A3 2.0 TFSi Ambition 3-dr
2006
R 149,900.00

AUDI

Q5 Quattro 2.0 TDi Dsl
2009
R 519,000.00

TOYOTA

Yaris T3 Sedan 1.3 AC
2009
R 145,990.00

Property - Find a new home

CAMPS BAY

Single Residential - House R 12 950 000

PLETTENBERG BAY

Single Residential - House R 12 500 000

WATERKLOOF

Single Residential - House R 18 000 000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!

Kalahari.net - shop online today

All Games on Sale

God of War III, Battlefield Bad Company II & more new releases coming soon!

1000s of Kids' Books on Sale

Order your little ones Mr Men, Miss Little, Spot, The Vampire Diaries & more!

All Music on Sale

Get 10% off 24hr music, plus order your copy of the NEW Arno Carsten, Nianell & more!

30% Off Selected DVDs

100s of Oscar winners now on sale! American Beauty, Step Up, Happy Feet, Casino Royale & more!

Order ALL your UNISA textbooks from kalahari.net

Find all your UNISA books you require for your studies and get them delivered right to your doorstep!

Hot Deal of the Day!

Samsung R519 Notebook

Was R5,588.95 Now R4,999.95 - Save R538!

IntelPentium Dual Core T4200 2.0GHz, 8x DVD Super Multi Writer, 1.3 MP Webcam & more. See the electronics shop for more Hot Offers!

Visit www.kalahari.net for millions of books, music, DVDs, games & more!