Death of Cheibani Wague (2003)

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Seibane Wague (also Cheibani Wague), born on December 20, 1969 in Kaédi, Mauritania, was a Mauritanian physics student who died in 2003 as a result of police brutality in Vienna. The case is one of the best-known cases of racist police violence in Austria, along with the death of Marcus Omofuma in 1999. [1]

Details of the Event

Cheibani Wague (1969-2003)

Thirty-three-year-old Cheibani Wague from Mauritania died in police custody in Vienna on the night of 15-16 July 2003. Police were called to Cheibani Wague's office at about 11 p.m. on 15 July, after a disagreement had been registered between him and a colleague. Wague worked at an African exhibition in the Vienna Park, when two people called the police because they felt intimidated by him. He yelled and flung himself onto the hood of a friend's vehicle.

Cheibani Wague, who initially responded peacefully to the presence of police and medical staff, was allegedly aggressively held back by police officers after he unexpectedly jumped out of the ambulance.

Video footage of the incident portrayed six police and medical personnel surrounding Cheibani Wague as he laid handcuffed, face down on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Although a police officer could be seen leaning on the detainee's leg with one foot, a medical attendant was standing on him with both feet.

Cheibani Wague had been kept in this position for about four-and-a-half minutes until anyone had evidently noticed that he was no longer breathing. However, the video evidence reveals that no one has taken any steps to resurrect him after this has been found.

Cheibani Wague was eventually admitted to Vienna General Hospital, where he allegedly died at around 6 a.m. on 16 July. The autopsy report released in November revealed the loss of oxygen in the brain and the permanent breakdown of the circulatory system as causes of death. The formal investigation of the incident was underway at the end of the year. [2]

Racial Bias in Policing

An investigation into Cheibani Wague's death was opened immediately; however none of the police officers involved was suspended through this process. During a press conference at Vienna International Airport on 23 July 2003, Ernst Strasser, Federal Minister of the Interior of Austria at that time, claimed that the President of the Vienna Police did not feel it was appropriate to begin disciplinary proceedings. The Minister said that the police officers had the right to be trustworthy, suggesting that he felt they should remain safe from further scrutiny.

At the point of the appeal, obvious flaws in police training come to light. The police officers involved in the incident testified during the trial that they were not aware of the fact that immobilizing a victim face down to the pavement, handcuffing his arms and legs, crushing his face and chest against the ground, and getting nine people standing or leaning against him and holding him in that position for a few minutes, could put that person's ability to breathe - and therefore his existence - at risk. Particularly after this deadly incident, the Austrian authorities did not take immediate measures to warn all law enforcement officials of the risks of this kind of restraint. [3]

At a special court hearing in Vienna in August 2005, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the police violated the rules and civil rights as they shackled Wague's feet and pulled him to the ground. The six officers would have been able to carry the handcuffed Wague to the nearest ambulance without taking such steps, the court said. [4]

Reference

  1. Seibane Wague. de.wikipedia.org. Retrieved on Feb 3, 2021.
  2. Amnesty International. Amnesty International Report 2004 - Austria. May 26, 2004. refworld.org. Retrieved on Feb 3, 2021.
  3. Amnesty International. AUSTRIA: COURT DELIVERS VERDICT IN THE CASE OF CHEIBANI WAGUE. November 9, 2005. amnesty.org. Retrieved on Feb 3, 2021.
  4. Irish Examiner Writer. Police action 'led to immigrant's death'. October 4, 2005. irishexaminer.org. Retrieved on Feb 3, 2021.