April 25
GHANA:
Ghana urged to meet international prison standards----Ghana's prisons are
rundown, overcrowded and in need of urgent reform
Ghana's prisons are rundown, overcrowded and in need of urgent reform with
prisoners facing conditions which do not meet international standards, Amnesty
International said today in a new report "Prisoners are bottom of the pile":
Human rights of inmates in Ghana.
Based on research carried out by Amnesty International in 2011, the report
documents the problems of overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure and
sanitation, insufficient food and health problems in prisons in Ghana.
Prison overcrowding is acute in some prisons and requires urgent attention by
the government. Approximately 3,000 inmates are awaiting trial and have not
been convicted of a crime.
"It is unacceptable to lock up prisoners for 12 hours a day, 365 days a year in
cells intended to hold a 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4 of the numbers actually squeezed into
dark, poorly ventilated and unhygienic spaces," said James Welsh, Amnesty
International’s researcher on health and detention.
While some prisoners have beds, others are forced to sleep on the floor. In
some particularly crowded cells, prisoners showed Amnesty International how
they sleep on their sides, in lines, covering the entire floor space.
Hygiene is compromised by the crowding and poor sanitation.
One remand prisoner told Amnesty International: "Our cell – the place where we
sleep -- is where we urinate and go to the toilet. You don’t get any privacy.
You have to use the bucket.”
Prisoners complained of health problems such as skin diseases and the
difficulties of obtaining prompt treatment from the infirmaries which were
overloaded and under-equipped.
Both staff and prisoners complained about the inadequate budget for food for
prisoners.
"The recent government decision to increase spending on food for prisoners –
from 0.60 to 1.80 cedi per day per prisoner – is a welcome step, but more
measures to improve standards are needed," said James Welsh.
Prisoners under sentence of death are held in separate accommodation within a
small number of prisons. For male prisoners, accommodation is overcrowded and
activities are not permitted, while the 4 women held under sentence of death
complained of isolation as they are not allowed to mix with other inmates.
The current constitutional review process gives the government an opportunity
to end the death penalty and to rationalize the situation of the 138 prisoners
currently under sentence of death.
"To bring prisons into line with Ghana's treaty obligations will require
political commitment and action by the government – it is urgently needed,"
said James Welsh.
“Overcrowding could be reduced by wider use of non-custodial sentences such as
fines and community service though fines must be set at realistic levels. The
transfer of prisoners to the new Ankaful prison will reduce, but not end,
overcrowding."
One key goal of prison is rehabilitation – a process ensuring that prisoners
return to society as reformed citizens.
"There are training schemes within the prison system but these are undercut by
the poor conditions, the limited range of activities for prisoners and the
shortage of resources," said James Welsh.
A key to prison reform is regular monitoring and accountability. It is
important that prisoners are able to talk to independent agencies and
regulators -- lawyers, diplomats, human rights monitors -- and break out of the
isolation in which they are kept.
Some prisoners told Amnesty International that they had never spoken to anyone
without guards being present.
"Both prison staff and prisoners would benefit in the long run from greater
openness," said James Welsh.
"The Prisons Service was very helpful in facilitating Amnesty International's
research," said Lawrence Amesu, director of Amnesty International Ghana and one
of the report authors.
"We believe that this cooperative spirit will offer a basis for continuing
dialogue on human rights in prisons."
(source: Amnesty International)
IRAN----executions
15 executed on drug charges in Iran
Since Monday, April 23, 15 people have been executed at the Shahroud,
Rejaishahr and Evin prisons in Iran.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that on April 25, 5
people convicted of drug charges were executed at Shahroud Prison. 4 of the
convicts were Afghan nationals and they were charged with “storing large
amounts of drugs.”
Their applications for pardon were processed in 2 stages and denied by the
Pardons Commission.
On Tuesday, April 24, the website for the Human Rights and Democracy Activists
of Iran reported the mass execution of 8 prisoners at Rejaishahr Prison in
Karaj. One of the prisoners hanged in Karaj was also an Afghan national.
On April 24, another 2 prisoners, who had been transferred from Ghezel Hessar
Prison to solitary confinement at Evin, were hanged at Evin.
In an earlier report, human rights activists said 9 prisoners convicted of drug
charges were executed in Shiraz, Marvsadht, Semnan and Zanjan between April 15
and 20.
Ahmad Shaheed, the special UN rapporteur on human rights in Iran, has expressed
concern over the growing number of executions in Iran since 2003.
In his report, he indicated there had been more than 400 executions in Iran in
2011 and he mentioned the possibility of unannounced executions. About 81 % of
the death penalties are reportedly for drug charges.
According to Amnesty International, Iran has the 2nd-highest rate of executions
in the world, surpassed only by China.
(source: Radio Zamaneh)
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