|
Momodou
Denmark
11804 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Mar 2010 : 19:40:23
|
Dailynews Editorial: The USA And Amnesty Critical of Gambia Government
The United States of America’s human rights report, together with that of the Amnesty International looks critical of the government of the Gambia human rights records. The two reports raised concern over the right violations in many aspects. The violation ranges from what they regard as arbitrary arrests and detentions. The other violations made references to unfair treatments of detainees.
"Amnesty International calls on the Gambian government to immediately charge or release all former government officials detained during a wave of arrests over the past week" Amnesty international
"Prison conditions were poor, and cells were overcrowded, damp, and poorly ventilated. Inmates complained of poor sanitation and food. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that guards were reluctant to intervene in fights between prisoners. Local prisons were overcrowded, and inmates occasionally slept on the floor; however, prior to conviction, detainees were allowed to receive outside sources of food. Prisoners at the Mile 2 Prison died during the year as a result of poor food and inadequate medical care.
On March 6, Benedict Jammeh, the former police inspector general, testified at Musa Suso's trial that inmates at Mile 2 Central Prison were fed with meat that resulted in the deaths of several prisoners; a committee of senior police officers subsequently confirmed the report. On May 8, David Colley, the director general of prison services, testified in the same trial that 23 inmates in 2006 and 40 in 2007 died in prison, primarily as a result of chronic anemia, abdominal pain, and food poisoning.
Pre-trial detainees were occasionally held together with convicted prisoners. At year's end, there were 780 inmates in the country's prisons.
The government permitted limited independent monitoring of prison conditions by some local and international human rights groups and diplomatic missions; however, neither the media nor the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was granted access to detainees or prisoners during the year" USA human right report
The revelations of such in the Amnesty and the USA human right reports should be treated with the utmost urgency, and that the government of the Gambia should immediately set up a commission to look into the issues raised in the two reports.
In our last editorial the Daily News did raised concern on the justice delivery system of the country. It is our ardent belief that the issue of decongestions at our detention camps be seriously looked at. The problem as far as we are concern has much to do with the prosecution arm of our justice delivery system. People who are under detention for several hours and in some cases for several years needed to be brought before a properly instituted courts.
Once we fail in bringing such persons before our courts, then we are failing as a nation. This is so, because it is the people’s rights which is at stake. We have called on the authorities that are to set up special committees to investigate such by visiting our prisons and other detention camps.
Source: Dailynews
|
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
|
Topic Locked
