By Politico staff writer
Calls have been made for more women in detention who are faced with challenging situations to be included in the Presidential Pardon process. Two organisations Advocaid and Purposeful in a press release expressed dismay that only five women were included in the list of160 inmates that benefitted from the 2022 New Year presidential pardon granted to people serving time.
Concern was particularly expressed that none of the women imprisoned in the provinces were released nor were two girls incarcerated at Approved School, a juvenile detention facility in Wellington. Concerns were highlighted at the overlooking of women with young children in prison.
On children in detention, they said: “International and regional standards urge governments to consider alternatives to incarceration and support for such children, rather than detention”.
Advocaid and Purposeful said incarcerated with young children were not considered for the presidential amnesty “despite international and regional standards which stress that alternatives to imprisonment should be preferred in these cases”.
References were made to a young mother with a baby jailed for three years at the Bo Correctional Centre, and another woman with a young baby at the Freetown Correctional Centre serving a seven-year sentence.
Another pregnant woman in Kabala detained since October 2020 gave birth to twins in prison. She was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for wounding with intent and according to Advocaid and Purposeful, she was not given adequate legal representation, and consideration not given to what they claimed was the provocation and emotional abuse she faced.
The two organisations stated: “These facilities do not have the appropriate medical, educational or support services for such children who are at risk during detention”.
The case of a 15-year-old girl victim of forced child marriage was also highlighted. The girl was convicted of murdering a much older man she was forced into marriage with, in breach of the Child Rights Acts of 2007. The girl reportedly suffered abuse and violence at the hands of the husband and other wives in the polygamous home.
“When she tried to flee this abusive situation, she was beaten by her family and sent back. As a final cry for help, she pushed the child of one of the co-wives down water well and he later died. She was arrested and charged with murder. We believe that her human rights were breached whilst in police custody,” the statement reads. It added: “For example, she did not have access to a lawyer, she was not provided with a guardian or representative during police questioning despite being a juvenile, she was not provided with a translator during police questioning and she was detained in degrading conditions at the police station. She also alleges that she was physically and sexually abused by a police officer. During her trial, there was no assessment of her mental health.”, the release asserts.
The girl is reportedly suffering from stress, and both Advocaid and Purposeful said they unsuccessfully tried to have her pardoned by the president. Numerous cases of pregnant women and lactating mothers imprisoned across the country were highlighted, some held for minor offences such as debt -owing.
The organisations stated: “We are concerned that several men were pardoned for serious offences, such as murder when women and girls convicted for lesser offences were not considered for pardon”. They say the process should be open, criteria-based, and provisions made for submissions from legal representatives and civil society organisations. They called on the “Government to review the cases of all women and girls currently detained in police stations and detention facilities across the country and to consider them for early release measures and alternatives to incarceration”.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (14/01/22)
