   |
|
afrol.com / AENS, 9 January - International human rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday slammed Malawi's inability to prevent massive rape and sexual abuse of juvenile prisoners in the country's penal system. Amnesty International's German chapter lodged formal written complaints with Malawi authorities condemning the systematic abuse of juvenile prisoners at Malawi's largest penitentiary, the Zomba Maximum Prison, and a series of smaller prisons. The abuses, including gang rape and forced sodomy, were first documented by Penal Reform International and Malawi's Inspectorate of Prisons late last year. Amnesty International spokesman Stefan Berger said in a letter delivered to Malawi Justice Minister Peter Fachi on Tuesday that juvenile prisoners should never be detained in cells with hardened adult criminals. Juveniles should instead, he said, be sentenced to well supervised rehabilitation centres with access to further education, counselling and skills training. "The current sexual violence reported in Malawi Prisons constitutes torture," Berger warned. He added that all sexual complaints or alleged assaults against juveniles and other prisoners should be investigated by an independent, transparent public body. Minister Fachi acknowledged receipt of the letter but told African Eye News Service (AENS) the department was hamstrung by severe budget constraints and crumbling prison infrastructure. "I must admit that conditions in some of our prisons need urgent redress. But many of these problems emanate from the fact that our jails were built between 20 and 30 years ago when the prison population was no-where as large as it is now," he said. Fachi added that he had forwarded Amnesty International's complaints to Malawi's home affairs ministry with a personal appeal to allocate funds to upgrade the prisons. "Home affairs actually has jurisdiction over any investigation into our penal system," he said. Amnesty International warned that the State would become liable for civil and criminal claims by abused prisoners unless it provided sexual abuse victims with urgent medical care, counselling and financial compensation. Berger added that children jailed with hardened adult prisoners would also be brutalised into becoming hardcore criminals themselves. "Prisoners just, therefore, be informed of their right to lodge formal complaints when they are victimised or abused. Anyone lodging such complaints should also be protected from retaliation by fellow prisoners or even implicated wardens," said Berger. Penal Reform International and Malawi Prison Inspectorate warned in a joint report last year that Malawi's overcrowded prisoners were fertile breeding grounds for sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS/HIV, which it said was increasing dramatically in prisons. - Of all the reported deaths in the prisons in 1997, 40 percent were caused by
AIDS. In 1998, 49 percent of all examined prisoners were HIV positive or suffering from AIDS, the report warned. Amnesty International follows growing criticism of the Justice Ministry by local human rights bodies, which first warned that juveniles should not be locked into cells with adults two years ago. By Brian Ligomeka, African Eye News Service (AENS)
|
