Death of Laye-Alama Cond

Laye-Alama Condé, an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone living in Bremen, Germany, was arrested by police on 27 December 2004 on suspicion of drug dealing. During custody, a doctor forcibly administered syrup of ipecac, an emetic, through a tube inserted into his nose to induce vomiting. This procedure was repeated multiple times until Condé collapsed and was hospitalized. He fell into a coma and died on 7 January 2005 due to cerebral hypoxia caused by drowning after aspiration of vomit into his lungs.

The practice of forced vomiting, used to extract evidence from suspects, had been employed over 1,000 times in Bremen between 1991 and 2004. It was deemed torture by the European Court of Human Rights in 2006, leading to its discontinuation in Bremen. The doctor involved faced multiple legal proceedings; charges were dropped twice before a third investigation resulted in a fine of 20,000 euros for Condé's family in 2013.

The Initiative in Memory of Laya Alama Condé advocates for a permanent monument in Bremen to honor those who died in police custody. The group highlights Condé's death as emblematic of systemic issues in law enforcement practices.