and of the failure of several key witnesses to show up, including two survivors of the massacre, allegedly because of fears for their safety. During the trial, a lawyer for the victims’ families, Ibrahima Doumbia said, “The witnesses don’t feel secure. And without them, I don’t think this trial will establish the truth.”126 During the trial, defense lawyer Banti Kakou implied impunity for the gendarmes was a requirement for stability in the Côte d’Ivoire by saying, “[b]y convicting them, you would needlessly undermine morale in the gendarmerie and therefore in Côte d’Ivoire.”127 All eight gendarmes maintained their innocence: Major Be Kpan said, “My men did not fire at any time,” and defendant Sergeant Nguessan Ble said, “I was surprised even to hear about the killings.”128 On August 3, 2001, all eight gendarmes were acquitted by Judge Delli Sepleu, who ruled that the prosecutors had failed to produce any evidence directly linking the gendarmes to the killings.129 Meanwhile, there was little international pressure to press for investigations or trials into the other hundreds of serious human rights violations committed against civilians during the October and December 2001 election periods. The results of the only other two official judicial investigation, into the case of eighteen bodies found in the Ébrié Lagoon and the killings in Blokosso, have yet to be made public. After the October wave of state sponsored violence, and the ensuing wave of national and international condemnation, President Gbagbo could have made a serious effort to investigate and bring the perpetrators of atrocities to justice. In so doing he would have sent a clear message that the violence seen during the October election period would not be tolerated by his regime. However, his interventions were limited to the promise of investigations and other apparently token gestures – and the renewed violence in December, including the systematic torture of detainees, suggested no serious efforts were made to establish accountability. President Gbagbo ordered no special judicial investigations into the December violence. However, responding to allegations of sexual abuse within the National Police Academy in the days prior to the December parliamentary elections, President Gbagbo requested that the Ministry of the Interior conduct an investigation. The December investigation concluded that while three rapes had been perpetrated by civilians in front of the paramilitary gendarmes, no rape had occurred within the National Police Academy.130 The very limited scope of this investigation, and the use of a definition of sexual abuse restricted to penetration of a vagina by a penis, undermined its credibility. While several women victims interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they were not technically raped within the National Police Academy, they nonetheless suffered other forms of serious sexual abuse. The actions of the security forces within other detention facilities, or indeed on the grounds of the technical institute, were not investigated. On December 11, 2000, Interior Minister Emile Boga Doudou responded to allegations of rape and other forms of torture made by the Ivorian Movement for Human Rights. He effectively justified sexual abuse by the security forces, implying that if members of the security forces are attacked, women become legitimate targets for sexual and other forms of abuse.131 I would very much like to react to these accusations. I agree with you that they are serious, but they are not based on any facts, because speaking about rape, whose fault is it if there is rape? I’d like to note that in a locality like Tengrele [in Northern Côte d’Ivoire] there was an attempt by RDR militants to rape nuns. And when you attack the security forces with firearms and weapons, with blades, and wound many of them, do not be surprised by the reaction of the security force. 126 “High stakes for Gbagbo in Ivorian Massacre Trial,” Reuters, August 1, 2001. “Ivory Coast Police Cleared of Murder,” www.bbc.co.uk, August 3, 2001. 128 “Ivory Coast Police Deny Guilt,” Associated Press, July 31, 2001. 129 “Ivory Coast Court Acquits Officers,” Associated Press, August 3, 2001. 130 “Ivory Coast – Report of Violations Within the Police Academy,” Ministry of the Interior, December 2000. 131 Radio France International, December 11, 2000. Transcribed in: “Ivory Coast: Focus on Human Rights Issues,” IRINWest Africa, December 14, 2000. 127 Human Rights Watch 61 August 2001, Vol. 13, No. 6(A)