Vincent Djiropo, a dedicated community leader, has been unjustly detained in San Pedro, in the Bas-Sassandra region of Ivory Coast, for standing up for the forest that sustains the local community. The informal alliance network across Africa demands that authorities take immediate action against this egregious violation of rights and release Vincent Djiropo without delay.
To strengthen solidarity and amplify their message, this alliance has written a powerful letter to the authorities and is actively circulating it through the media, as follows:
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December 15, 2024
Mr. Ousmane Coulibaly
Regional Prefect,
Prefect of the Department of San Pedro.
From our consideration
We are writing to you to express our concern about the detention of Mr. Vincent Djiropo. Mr Djiropo is a highly respected community leader committed against the privatization of the Monogaga forest and in defence of the ancestral lands of his people. We hear that he has been detained since Saturday, December 14 by the police in San Pedro.
We have been informed that Mr. Djiropo’s detention is because he opposed the privatization of the Monogaga forest where the Roots Wild Foundation was granted a concession by the Ministry of Water and Forests. This forest is vital to the local communities who have lived and depended on it for more than six centuries. These communities are resisting land grabbing, which threatens their livelihoods, their culture and the forest of their ancestors.
Reports indicate that Mr Djiropo had previously received numerous threats and intimidation because of his commitment to his people. His detention highlights serious concerns about the criminalization of land defenders in the region.
We call on you and all Ivorian authorities to immediately release Mr. Vincent Djiropo and to guarantee the security and rights of all individuals who defend their ancestral lands. His detention represents a serious violation of human rights and the right to freedom of expression.
We remain working in solidarity with communities and organizations across the region who are defending their lands, and we will continue to monitor the situation of Mr. Vincent Djiropo closely. We call on the authorities to take immediate measures to repair this injustice and to release Mr. Vincent Djiropo.
We are awaiting an urgent response,
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To provide supportive solidarity, please open and complete the form at the following link:
Solidarity for Vincent Djiropo