Sierra Leone
Seen in the press
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Sierra Leone: abolition of death penalty a major victory
On 23 July 2021, the Parliament of Sierra Leone voted in favour of a Bill abolishing the death penalty. The Bill is required to receive the assent of President Julius Maada Bio before it becomes law. In February, President Bio officially gave the directives for the death penalty to be abolished fro…Source — Amnesty international
Sierra Leone: riot breaks out in coronavirus-struck prison
A riot has broken out at the central prison in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, with smoke billowing from the facility after the confirmation of a coronavirus case there. Inmates at Pademba Road Prison had earlier on Wednesday set some buildings on fire in a protest that police and security forces…Source — Aljazeera
Sierra Leone : doing time in "Hell"
A shaft of light penetrates the foul air through a fist-sized vent. It reveals naked, sweating bodies packed side-by-side like sardines, lying in darkness on a greasy concrete floor. The stench of urine and excreta from a brimming plastic bucket – just one for a cell containing perhaps 20 people –…Source — France 24
Sierra Leone: "I didn't mean to plead guilty"
“Miriam” grew up in Sierra Leone and didn’t go to school. As an adult, she struggled to read and write. When she was arrested for loitering, she misunderstood the offence and found herself in prison.Source — Planet Genius
Sierra Leone: "I came away convinced that many of them know that they will die in the most inhumane prison in the world, despite their young age"
Alberto López is a Spanish journalist at the Department of Communication of the Salesian Missions Office in Madrid. A few days ago he visited one of the most inhumane prisons in the world in order to prepare for a documentary on the work of the Salesians with the most disadvantaged young people of…Source — ANS
Sierra Leone: no transport for prisoners delays justice
Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” However, the lack of prisoner transport trucks in 14 out of 19 Correctional Centres tends to violate that provision.Source — Awoko
Sierra Leone: justice for women who kill
Aminata* was only 17 years old when she was arrested for killing her former boyfriend eight years ago. She was sentenced to death for murder in November 2010 and feared each day she would be executed before her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the government on Sierra Leone’s 50th Inde…Source — All Africa
Sierra Leone: a library for Pademba Road Prison
Well, it has taken 7 years, but today I am happy to say that I have finally delivered on the promises I made so rashly back in 2010.Source — Pabemda Library
Conditions in detention: EU supports Prison Watch Sierra Leone with €284,000 towards monitoring and legal aid
On 13 January 2017 the project “Monitoring Access to Justice and Protecting Human Rights through Legal Aid Representation in Places of Detention”, implemented by Prison Watch Sierra Leone and with a budget of €284,000 over 24 months funded by the European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone through th…Source — European Union
Sierra Leone: "Your name is John Bosco? With that name you should not be in prison."
Two years ago the World Health Organization declared that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was over. The epidemic caused about 4,000 deaths and over 14,000 cases of infection.Source — ANS
Sierra Leone : prison reforms bring no relief
Recent reforms to Sierra Leone’s prison system have failed to bring much meaningful improvement, according to an IWPR investigation. Official figures show that the current inmate population stands nationally at 3,184, even though the system only has capacity for 1,785.Source — IWPR
The forgotten child prisoners of Sierra Leone
Child inmates are left to languish in prison with no visitors or legal assistance as many wait years for a trial. Sorie’s last day of freedom was a few weeks before his 14th birthday, when the well-to-do father of a girl he liked got word that his daughter had been hanging around with a street boy.Source — Al Jazeera
Sierra Leone : DIGNITY is pushing for positive changes in prisons
DIGNITY and local partner Prison Watch ensures political commitment to ambitious revision of prison legislation in Sierra Leone. It has been 55 years since the last revision of prison rules in the West African country, but over the past few years the prison authorities – now known as Correctional S…Source — Dignity Institute
Sierra Leone: a horror story from court and prison
If you are a good Christian or Muslim, or, humanist, a chill would run through your body, you would shed tears at this.Source — The Patriotic Vanguard
Prison ministry transforms lives in Sierra Leone
Prisoners in Sierra Leone have received Christ, been baptized and even been released thanks to a thriving United Methodist prison ministry.Source — The People of The United Methodist Church
Sierra Leone's prisons: tough, but Ebola-free
Central Freetown’s maximum-security prison was built to house just 324. Today, over 1400 inmates are crammed between its walls.Source — UNPD