Fifteen remanded prisoners have been set free from the Pa Demba Road Male Correctional Centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital.
Their matters have been sub judice for years without rulings or verdicts. Most, if not all, look famished and sickly. They are in a state of despair and hopelessness.
Returning home is extremely difficult, if not almost impossible as family members or kinsmen could not be traced. Reunification strategies or rehabilitation packages are largely absent for these freed prisoners.
The prisoners’ present condition in Sierra Leone is a direct consequence of a negligent judiciary over the years.The prisoners have been on remand for lengthy years and most of the offences for which they are incarcerated are misdemenour or minor. They are supposed to be tried within a reasonable period, but the reverse occurs.The years they spent behind bars indicate that they have been relegated to the state of ‘forgotten prisoners.’
One of them,Mohamed Lamin Turay told Nightwatch that he was arrested in Waterloo, Western Area Rural District, several kilometers away from Freetown, two years back, for an alleged larceny.
Since his arrest, Turay continued, he was taken into prison custody and spent over two years in detention.He further explained that he was happy as his liberty had been restored.
“Now that I have been released from prison, I have regained my freedom, I promise to comport myself and not to involve in crime again as life in prison is very terrible,” Turay explained.
Other prisoners that share the same fate with Mohamed has also spent lengthy years behind bars for misdemenour or minor offences. They have languished behind bars for years without being heard or acquitted. Most were excited for one thing- freedom. But it is freedom without hope.
In recent past, a prisoner was kept behind bars for over ten years in the state prison in Kenema, east of Sierra Leone. He was also set free owing to the persistent effort of Legal Aid Board, Sierra Leone, a public agency of lawyers that offer pro- bono legal services to indigent citizens.
The aforementioned instances indicate that, Sierra Leone’s judiciary has got a long way to go.The bane of over-detention usually begins at the police cells where suspects of minor offences are held for a period beyond that prescribed by law. With the prevalence of such conditions in the country’s judiciary, it goes without saying that several fundamental rights have been infringed upon.
This article explores the rights that are at stake when law enforcement officials including the police and the judiciary deviate from set standards and international best practices.
The first and immediate right that is trampled upon by such unprofessional law enforcement agencies is the right to presumption of innocence.
This right is cardinal, it is a judicial principle that is universally recognized and respected.The principle says: ‘any person accused of having committed an offence shall be presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of law presided over by a competent judicial authority where defence rights are guaranteed. This right is sacred in all finest jurisdictions known to the criminal law. This sacred right also forms part of the ‘Rule of Law’ principle as propounded by Professor A.V. Diecy in his celebrated work: ‘The Law of the Constitution’ published in 1885.
The erudite Professor contends, under the first meaning of the rule of law that: ‘no one should be made to suffer in body or in property without a distinct breach of the laws of the land.’ The Magna Carta Bill of 1215 also lends credence to the Diecian conception.
Similarly, the right to bail has also been deprived of the remanded prisoners. Since every accused person is presumed innocent, the certainty that the person actually commits the alleged offence is virtually absent.
In simple words, it is still doubtful as to whether there is an offence committed.
Prior to the promulgation of the bail regulations by the judiciary, the right to bail either at the police station or the courts is discretional. Previously, bail was within the discretion of the court or the authorities at a police station. The law identifies treason, murder, robbery and other related capital offences as the unbailable ones. Since bail was discretional before this time, it was left to the capricious, prejudicial and whimsical preferences of judicial officers. With the nurturing of such horrific circumstances within the judiciary, Over-detention or unlawful detention and delayed trials became the rule other than the exception.
Moat frustrating, the right to a fair hearing has been put to the greatest test with the conditions prevailing in the judiciary. The principle of natural Justice says: ‘both sides in a case must be heard.’ This means the accused and the person who accused must be heard by a competent judicial authority before a decision is reached so that no one can be hurt out of ignorance.
Another cherished right which is conspicuously absent in Sierra Leone’s law books is the right to compensation. This right is highly respected in liberal and civilized jurisdictions where prisoners who are unlawfully incarcerated are offered reunification packages in monetary form or in kind so that they can re-start their lives. Via BBC media link, a UK prisoner was compensated with thousands of British Pounds after he unlawfully spent ten years behind bars owing to an erroneous deletion of the prisoner’s name on the list.
International and local legislations that uphold prisoners’ rights
The first document that catalogues basic human rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948. Article-1 says: ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ The document further dilates on several rights that have been deprived of the freed prisoners. Article-8 reads: ‘everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
This right is further bolstered by article 9 which reads: ‘no person shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention and exile,’ Article 10 says: ‘everyone is entitled, in full, equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charges against him.’ Article 11 reads: ‘everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 contains similar articles that uphold basic rights relating to the handling of accused persons. One of these provisions is found in article-3. It says: ‘Each state party to the present covenant undertakes to ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms are violated shall have an effective remedy notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.
In addition, the African Charter on Human and People’ Rights, 1981 also upholds basic human rights of the individual including remanded prisoners. Article-5 says: ‘every individual shall be equal before the law.’
Locally, the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991 also set minimum standards for the respect of rights of persons who come into conflict with the law. Section 17 says: ‘any person who is arrested and detained and who is not released shall be brought before a court of law… within ten days from the date of his arrest in cases of capital offences and seventy-two hours of his arrest in case of other misdemeanor offences.’
Thus, the continued detention of prisoners on remand against international conventions and national laws is terribly disastrous for the judiciary. This organ of government is sacred and should not be allowed to be exploited. The rights explored in this article are justiciable meaning they are enforceable in the superior courts of judicature.Therefore, setting the prisoners free is an admirable move, but to see abuse of their rights challenged in a court of law is more admirable.