Firmin Gnali, a political activist who worked to bring democracy to his nation, the Ivory Coast, is now seeking asylum in Britain. If he is sent back to the Ivory Coast, he will face the possibility of death at the hands of the Government. Firmin was a member of the FPI (Front Populaire Ivoirien), and a student union activist. In 1991 and 1992, he was arrested, detained and tortured by the military for his political activities. In 1993, the Ivory Coast authorities sacked him from his teaching job and forced him into hiding. On 23rd December 1993, a few days after Henry Konan Bedie proclaimed himself President of the Ivory Coast, Firmin managed to flee the country with a group of musicians travelling to England. He applied for political asylum in the UK in January 1994. His application for asylum was refused by the Home Office in May 1995. In May, the Home Office denied Firmin his final leave to appeal. Firmin has one final legal option, that of taking his case to the High Court for judicial review. He is now under serious threat of deportation back to the Ivory Coast. Firmin Gnali has recently been working as a musician and actor with Banner Theatre in Birmingham.
In the Ivory Coast today, members of opposition parties, opposition journalists, trade unionists and student union activists are still subject to systematic repression. Kidnappings, arbitrary arrests, political trials, imprisonment and torture continue to be carried out. There are more than 100 political prisoners in Ivorean jails today.