Wife of Detained Colonel Demands Action Over Prison Conditions in Madagascar

Tsiafahy prison, in the southern suburbs of Antananarivo, has become the center of a growing public controversy over the detention conditions of Colonel Patrick, a former military officer jailed on April 26, 2026, on charges of threatening state security.

His wife, Dr. Mino Hasina, has released a video circulating widely on social media that documents what she describes as a sharp and ongoing deterioration in his treatment. The facility is notorious for housing the country’s most dangerous detainees, including cattle thieves, serial murderers, and political prisoners. Its conditions are severe by any standard. What Dr. Hasina describes goes further.

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According to her account, Colonel Patrick’s cell contains only a plate, a spoon, a worn blanket, and a solar lamp. Ventilation is minimal, forcing detainees into the yard during daylight hours. Sanitary facilities are essentially nonexistent. Since August 27, 2026, visiting privileges previously granted three times weekly were revoked by order of the Justice Minister. Dr. Hasina fears her husband has since been moved to the prison’s most severe disciplinary cells: six square meters, no natural light, no blankets, no outside food, and no toilet facilities. Detainees in those cells, she says, are forced to sleep near their own waste.

The health picture is equally alarming. Dr. Hasina reports frequent breathlessness, back and chest pain, and episodes of hypothermia. Medical consultations, she says, are irregular. CT scans have been performed, but she claims the results remain blocked within the prison’s medical service. She draws a direct parallel to the recent death of another military prisoner at Tsiafahy, suggesting that administrative delays in medical processing contributed to that death. “Their objective is to eliminate Colonel Patrick slowly,” she stated publicly.

Colonel Patrick’s path to Tsiafahy was itself turbulent. He gained prominence as the first active-duty military officer to publicly denounce alleged electoral fraud in March 2025. After the September 2025 coup, he was appointed to lead the Grievances Office within the military junta. Within two months, he was dismissed after accusing state officials of being captured by corrupt bureaucrats linked to certain business interests. He went underground, was pursued intensively, and was eventually charged and imprisoned.

Meanwhile, the pressure on his family has extended well beyond Dr. Hasina’s video appeal. Multiple family members have reportedly been detained for questioning after communicating with him. Her octogenarian brother and young grandson were questioned. A niece, Dr. Lalie, is reportedly being sought on charges of threatening state security. Her son and brother are reportedly being held by investigators to pressure her. Dr. Hasina herself was detained for thirteen days in April 2025 when her husband was being pursued.

In response, she has called for his transfer to the military hospital, where she believes he would be safer. She has also proposed forming a “Colonel Patrick solidarity group” to mobilize support and media attention around his case.

That appeal has begun reaching political circles. Deputy Rajerison Antoine, representing Arivonimamo in the Itasy region, has asked Colonel Randrianirina, president of the Refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar (PRRM), to show clemency. “Colonel Patrick was among those who fought alongside us and participated in the struggle that led to this refoundation regime,” the deputy stated. “It is therefore normal that the PRRM personally address his case during this difficult period.” He added: “In its time, the PRRM itself knew prison and someone showed mercy to allow it to regain freedom. It is now its turn to grant this same mercy.”

Public voices have echoed that position. Rakotobe, an activist who walked forty kilometers from the Imamo region to the capital during demonstrations at May 13 Square, described Colonel Patrick as known for honesty and consistent opposition to corruption. “The repression exercised against him and his family today is entirely unjust,” he said. A younger activist rejected accusations that Colonel Patrick acts on behalf of former president Andry Rajoelina or businessman Mamy Ravatomanga, noting that many currently in power are themselves former Rajoelina supporters, including former ministers, senators, and activists of the IRMAR platform. “By contrast, Colonel Patrick has no known pro-Rajoelina past,” the activist said.

The case sits inside a wider political stalemate. A significant portion of Madagascar’s public now believes the September 2025 GenZ movement was co-opted by military officers, business figures, and political opportunists. On one side stands a military junta accused of failing to meet popular aspirations and subject to competing economic interests. On the other, a weakened political opposition whose image has been damaged by controversial positions taken by certain diaspora activists. Between them, a population marked by successive disappointments and a deep sense of powerlessness.

Whether an upcoming national consultation can break that deadlock, or whether Colonel Patrick’s case will become a test of the junta’s willingness to act on its own stated principles, remains to be seen.