Outcry at police sex assault video in Congo Brazzaville

A policeman posing in front of two naked women. Screen grab from the video below. 

A video showing a group of policemen sexually assaulting two women in Congo-Brazzaville’s capital city has caused a public outcry since being uploaded to YouTube last Sunday. We spoke to an Observer who told us this shocking footage puts the spotlight on police brutality, which he says is widespread in his country.

We spoke to several Observers in the capital, Brazzaville, who told us the images appeared on Facebook a few days before the video was uploaded onto YouTube on March 31. Facebook later removed the images. The footage shows two naked women lying in the back of a pick-up truck, surrounded by policemen. The policemen speak the local dialect, Lingala. One of them starts touching the women’s private parts. He does not make any attempt to disguise himself or cover his face. The women look distressed and dazed. The man orders them not to hide themselves and, looking at the camera, says: “look at them, look at them.”

A local policeman who asked to stay anonymous told FRANCE 24 he believes the footage was filmed at some point during February, because that’s when it was passed between various policemen’s mobile phones: “In Brazzaville, the whole police force has been aware of this incident for the last month and a half. In my case, a colleague sent me the video.” He says the incident was filmed at a petrol station in Brazzaville’s Tala Ngaï neighbourhood late at night, as the police often make arrests after midnight, when the drinking venues close. “It looks like a commonplace routine check that went wrong. This kind of behaviour is an exception in the police force; I’ve never heard of such a thing happening before”.

Police spokesman Jean-Yves Alakoua told FRANCE 24 three men involved in this incident had been detained in Brazzaville on charges of public indecency. They will be brought before a disciplinary council and face a life-long ban from serving on the police force.

FRANCE 24 decided to either remove or blur parts of the footage deemed too shocking. The women's faces were blurred to protect their privacy. Segments where the person behind the camera filmed close-ups of the women’s genitals were deleted.

“In Congo Brazzaville, police abuse is routine”

Roch Euloge Nzobo is the Executive Director of the Congolese Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH). He lives in Brazzaville.

This footage may have shocked the public, but unfortunately it shows what is part of everyday life in this country. Brazzaville and Point-Noire [Editor’s note: Brazzaville is the capital city, Point-Noire is the economic capital] are often the scene of atrocities committed by the security forces.

 

It’s very likely the two women were prostitutes [Editor’s note: this has not been confirmed], targeted by policemen on patrol in the city at night. The police take advantage of their vulnerability, as they’re often from the Democratic Republic of Congo or other neighbouring countries, and are in the country illegally. They go to the bars and nightclubs; the police know where to find them. When police cars stop in neighbourhoods where the nightlife is lively, it’s not rare to see these women running to hide. They live in permanent fear.

 

“It wouldn’t be surprising if those behind the video carried on with this kind of behaviour once the fuss has calmed down”

 

It’s also likely that the young women in the video didn’t even file a complaint against their attackers. [Editor’s note: The policeman FRANCE 24 spoke to said the women will be staying in a secret location until the trial, so as to protect them from being harassed or intimidated]. Their case is unlikely to change the justice system in our country, where police abuse is routine.

 

On October 31 of last year, the OCDH published a report that shows torture is a daily reality in Congo Brazzaville. Research, funded by the European Union, was carried out between 2010 and 2012 in six out of twelve of the country’s regions. It showed that the majority of these crimes are committed while people are being detained by officials, often in detention centres, prisons, and police stations.

 

I think there are two possible explanations as to how the incident was filmed: either the man holding the camera wanted to expose the horrors he was witnessing his colleagues commit, or – and this is more likely – he was convinced the crime could be committed with impunity. When the police do something wrong, they never get in trouble for it.

 

In any case, it wouldn’t be surprising if those behind the video carried on with this kind of behaviour once the fuss has calmed down.

Post written with FRANCE 24 journalist Grégoire Remund.