An ecumenical service for the nation and in tribute to recent kidnapping victims was held yesterday on the steps of City Hall in Analakely. During the event, the Justice Minister provided an update on the situation.
According to Justice Minister Fanirisoa Ernaivo, thirty cases related to recent disappearances are currently pending before the courts across the country. The Keeper of the Seals shared this information with the press yesterday, during the ecumenical service held at City Hall in Analakely.
According to Minister Ernaivo's explanation, defendants in twelve of these thirty cases have already been presented to the prosecutor's office. Defendants in ten disappearance cases are before the prosecutor of the Court of First Instance (TPI) in Antananarivo, and defendants in two others are before regional courts. Republic Prosecutor Narindra Navalona Rakotoniaina spoke about these ten cases on Friday.
According to Prosecutor Rakotoniaina, in these ten cases, sixteen people have been referred to the prosecutor's office at the TPI in Antananarivo. Following their appearance, eleven defendants were placed in preventive detention. Men are held at Tsiafahy prison and women at Antanimora central prison.
Beyond cases before the courts, the Justice Minister also reports that twenty other cases are still under investigation by the gendarmerie and police. Reporting "nine deaths" related to recent disappearance cases, the government official states that "we are conducting systematic autopsies on recovered bodies."
The Justice Minister also indicates that survivors of disappearance cases will be questioned by investigators. Their relatives will also be invited to give statements. "We must, however, give victims some time, particularly to recover from the shock of what they experienced before taking their statements," adds Fanirisoa Ernaivo.
Confessions
According to the situation update provided by Minister Ernaivo, defendants in three of the cases before the courts "have confessed." These include defendants in the kidnapping case of a girl in Ambositra in late April, in which the abductors demanded a ransom. They broke all communication with the victim's family, even though part of the demanded sum had already been paid.
The girl's body was found at the bottom of a septic tank on July 22. The investigation of this case was transferred to the TPI in Antananarivo. The four defendants are currently in preventive detention. The second case involving a confession concerns a kidnapping that occurred in the capital. However, the Justice Minister provided no details, except that the crime appears to be related to "a settling of scores."
In the third case, the defendant's confession is equally chilling. "The defendant admitted that the objective of his act was to make a sacrifice to become rich," the Keeper of the Seals recounts. During her exchange with the press yesterday, journalists questioned Fanirisoa Ernaivo about whether judicial investigations or ongoing inquiries have confirmed the state's theory that disappearance cases are also related to political destabilization maneuvers.
"We have names, as this is an operation carried out by a group of people, not just one," the Justice Minister affirmed in response to the press. She further maintains that authorities are not neglecting any intelligence and are collecting all possible information, "while being careful about relationships to avoid charging innocent people."
In response to the press, Fanirisoa Ernaivo provided the national tally of disappearance cases since January. The figures she provided are those recorded at the Anti-Kidnapping Operational Command Center, located at the central police station in Tsaralalàna. According to her, "at this moment," since the beginning of the year, two hundred fifty-six people are reported missing according to the Command Center's data.
One hundred seventy-five people have been found. "The majority, representing 74% of reported missing persons, left their homes due to family problems. This is why some families hesitate to inform authorities when their relative is found," explains the Keeper of the Seals.