Definitive Report - Report No 72, 1964

Case No 289 (Senegal) - Complaint date: 23-MAR-62 - Closed

1. 29. This case was already examined by the Committee at its 31st Session, held in Geneva in May 1962. The Committee then submitted an interim report contained in paragraphs 202-213 of its 62nd Report, which was approved by the Governing Body at the beginning of its 152nd Session on 1 June 1962.

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 30. The essential points in this case should be briefly recalled. By a communication dated 23 March 1962, the World Federation of Trade Unions submitted allegations claiming that Mr. Abdoulaye Thiaw, an officer of the autonomous unions of Senegal, was arbitrarily arrested at Dakar on 6 January 1962, the reason for his arrest being that he had attended the Fifth World Trade Union Congress in Moscow. The complainants further stated that Mr. Thiaw was likely to be brought before a special tribunal, pursuant to an Act of 16 September 1961.
2. 31. In its observations submitted on 19 May 1962, the Government agreed that it had arrested Mr. Thiaw. However, it stated that this arrest had no connection whatever with Mr. Thiaw's trade union activities or with the fact that he had attended the Fifth World Trade Union Congress. In support of this contention, the Government pointed out that several other Senegalese trade unionists had attended the Congress but had not been troubled, which the complainants themselves confirm. The Government stated that Mr. Thiaw was being prosecuted on two grounds: fraudulent importation of foreign exchange, and activities calculated to endanger public security, to cause disturbance, to discredit national political institutions and to incite citizens to break the national laws. The Government concluded its communication by stating that Mr. Thiaw would appear before the tribunal responsible for dealing with activities of such nature, in order to answer the second charge.
3. 32. At its meeting in May 1962, the Committee had before it both the complaint and the Government's reply. It recalled that, in previous cases it has followed the practice of not proceeding to examine matters which were the subject offending national judicial proceedings where such proceedings might make available information of assistance to the Committee in appreciating whether or not allegations were well founded.
4. 33. In the light of these precedents, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to request the Government, whose reply had stated that it was prepared to provide the Committee and the Governing Body with any further information required, to be good enough to inform it of the outcome of the proceedings pending before the national tribunals, and in particular, to forward the text of the judgment, together with the grounds given, and, pending receipt of that information, to defer its examination of the case.
5. 34. This request for further information was made to the Government by a letter from the Director-General dated 7 June 1962. In a communication dated 11 September 1962, the Government stated that the matter was still under investigation but that the accused had been provisionally released.
6. 35. When the case was again brought before the Committee at its 32nd Session (October 1962), it was decided to adjourn further examination pending receipt of all the information requested from the Government, and this decision was communicated to the Government by a letter dated 14 November 1962. At its 33rd Session (February 1963), the additional information still not having been received from the Government, the Committee again decided to adjourn examination of the case.
7. 36. By a communication dated 4 March 1963 the Government informed the Committee that the investigating magistrate of the First Judicial District of Dakar had handed over responsibility for the case to the special tribunal, which had not yet completed its investigation. The Committee noted this statement at its 34th Session (May 1963) and decided to adjourn further examination pending communication of the outcome of the proceedings instituted. The Government was informed of this decision by a letter dated 6 June 1963.
8. 37. By a communication dated 19 June 1963 the World Federation of Trade Unions informed the Committee that the latest information it had received stated that Mr. Abdoulaye Thiaw had been released, indicating thereby that its complaint had now become purposeless.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 38. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that no useful purpose would be served by continuing further the examination of the case.