Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission – Hearing Number 164 More evidence of atrocities surfaces in relation to the Grand Police prison |09 June 2021

Peter Antat (Photo: Joena Meme)

Since the beginning of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC), the Grand Police high security prison has come up quite often as the place of torture, and even death of many Seychellois who are now seeking justice for ill and inhuman treatments received at the hands of the army which administered the place.

During yesterday’s hearing, farmer Peter Antat shared his ordeal at the dungeon following his arrests on two occasions, after he was linked with escaped convict Lambert Laurette.

Opened in the late eighties, the Grand Police high security prison, declared a special prison and administered by the army, was later used as a camp for special operations by the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF).

Police brutality and harassment was also on the TRNUC’s agenda yesterday in case 0487 filed by Marie-France Esparon and Julius Adrienne.

Case 0410 – Peter Antat

Farmer Peter Antat of La Gogue was the first person to appear before the TRNUC yesterday as a complainant.

He explained that in October 1998, he was kidnapped on his farm by a group of soldiers and brought to Grand Police, while being beaten in the pickup all the way up.

According to Mr Antat, he was arrested due to his connection to escaped prisoner Lambert Laurette who he claimed he assisted with some food while the former was still at large.

He explained that Laurette just appeared on his farm, asking for some food and he, Mr Antat, being a kind-hearted person, willingly accepted to help.

He said after eating, Laurette left and he never saw him again, before he was arrested.

Mr Antat said he knew Laurette since they are both from the Bel Ombre district.

Once at Grand police, Mr Antat said he was beaten with a polythene pipe and tied to an avocado tree.

A big rock was placed on his head and on his stomach, while being questioned on the whereabouts of Laurette.

He also explained that during his detention, they continuously beat him up every day, after removing him from his cell and tying him up to a post.

Following his release, Mr Antat had to leave his farm and went to live with his mother at Bel Ombre since he was not able to do anything on his own due to the gravity of his injuries.

Once at Bel Ombre, he was once again arrested and brought back to Grand Police where he underwent the same treatment for another week.

Unable to walk, he was then released and dumped by the roadside at La Gogue where he sought for help and was brought to the hospital where he was admitted for one and a half months and underwent several surgeries.

Mr Antat showed the commission the scars under the sole of his feet and also told them about other scars, including the one where he had to do skin graft.

He was also admitted to the psychiatric ward for one and a half months.

Mr Antat further added that to date, he still cannot wear any shoes, including the required boots for his job as a farmer.

Case 0487 – Marie-France Esparon and Julius Adrienne

The second case before the TRNUC yesterday was that of Marie-France Esparon and Julius Adrienne based on harassment and persecution by the police.

Mrs Esparon is the mother of Julius, fathered by the son of the late Davidson Chang-Him who was assassinated on the day of the 1977 coup.

She explained that in the early nineties, she was harassed by the then Police Mobile Unit (PMU) who would carry out searches of her house at Bel Ombre on a regular basis, messing up the place and even stole her money – R600 – on one occasion.

Mrs Esparon said the reason given for the searches was to look for pamphlets of the Mouvement Pour La Resistance (MPR).

She explained that on several occasions she took her kids and ran and took refuge at her mother’s house which was not far from hers.

She added that once her son Julius reached his teenage years, they started to harass him and she had to send him to England to live with his aunt.

Once back in the country, Julius was harassed quite often and was arrested on many occasions without any charge.

Mrs Esparon said on one occasion, a member of the then National Drugs Enforcement Agency (NDEA) threatened her with weapon during one of the unlawful arrests.

On that particular day, the officers seized Julius’ money – around R30,000 – which was never returned.

Julius explained that part of the money was a collection by the youth of Bel Ombre for a picnic at Anse Major.

The arrests continued for quite a while but Julius was never charged with anything.

On one occasion, the police stormed his father’s house where he was staying at Bel Ombre and started to beat him and some of his friends who were attending a meeting there.

They smashed everything in the house, including electric appliances, utensils and two aquariums.

Julius also gave various accounts of several incidents involving harassment by the police on him and his friends.

To date, no charges whatsoever have been placed on Julius.

Roland Duval