The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) offered a searing assessment of the country’s detention systems, finding numerous faults relating to how the criminal justice system treats people deprived of their liberty.

The WGAD found the country is not doing enough to ensure forced confessions to crimes are not impeding people’s right to a fair trial.

The body said people are too often arrested without a warrant, and arrests are sometimes based on outdated or expired warrants.

Contrary to the law, detainees are often detained for significantly longer than 48 hours without court-granted extensions.

 In many cases, arrested people lack access to a lawyer, showing the need for greater access to state-funded attorneys.

 In prison, detainees often cannot access medical care, and visits from relatives have been prohibited since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the preliminary report released on Friday.

 The report came after the Working Group’s first official visit to the country this month. The body, comprising independent human rights experts, visited ten facilities and reportedly interviewed over 134 people.

 In some cases, the country’s record was praised, and examples of ongoing efforts to improve and fill gaps were highlighted.

 For instance, the Working Group noted that some Department of Correctional Services facilities are being refurbished, and it praised the establishment of a medical block at the Detention Centre. It also highlighted the government’s plan to enact relevant immigration and oversight legislation. 

 Nonetheless, the group’s criticism of the country’s record stands.

 For years, defence lawyers have said a reliance on forced confessions is a grave human rights problem, one legislators and courts have inadequately addressed.

 The Working Group was told that people are tortured for confessions. The group found the evidentiary threshold to prove a confession was made under duress high, with the burden of proof on the defendant.

 “Notably, the Evidence Act does not oblige a court to have corroborating evidence once an accused has confessed, thus a confession obtained under duress might become the sole basis for a conviction, in gross breach of international human rights standards,” the Working Group said.

 The group noted the country is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which mandates placing the burden to prove a confession was freely given on the government, not the defendant.

Arrest practices

 Many detainees the group interviewed were never presented with a warrant, and the report characterises the powers of police to arrest without a warrant as too broad.

 “The Working Group considers that such expanded exceptions to the arrest warrant requirement are not consistent with human rights law,” the group said. “It thus recommends ensuring that warrants are obtained in advance to avoid undermining judicial control of detention.”

 “The Working Group is also alerted to a widespread practice of arrests based on outdated or expired warrants and release after 24 or 48 hours. It has also received information about the practice of detaining individuals, including those wearing electronic ankle monitors, during certain festive periods as a policing technique. Such detentions lasting between 24 and 48 hours have severe repercussions, including loss of jobs due to absence from work.”

 The Working Group said it interviewed people who spent seven days or longer in police custody, concluding detainees are often kept longer than the law allows “without any notification of charges and judicial oversight.”

Access to lawyers

 The Working Group said it interviewed many detainees who did not initially have legal representation because they lacked the financial means.

 “As a result, individuals who lack the socio-economic resources to secure private legal representation face an increased likelihood of arbitrary detention,” the report said.

 The group also said it encountered many detainees unaware of their right to counsel. Some convicted in the Magistrates Court were reportedly unaware of their right to appeal their conviction within seven days.

 “In one instance, the Working Group came across an individual serving a life sentence who did not have a lawyer throughout all stages of criminal proceedings,” the report said.

 The group added that suspects are frequently denied having their lawyer present when they are interrogated and interviewed by police even though the physical presence of lawyers during initial police interrogations is essential.

 “Despite the ad hoc availability of legal representation at the Magistrates Courts through the legal aid clinic attached to the Eugene Dupuch Law School Clinic and pro bono assistance from members of the Bar Association, much broader access to state-funded lawyers is needed,” the report said.

 “Only during the trial at the Supreme Court, pursuant to the filing of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI), does the Supreme Court appoint a lawyer to represent the defendant free of charge from the Public Defender’s Office or the Crown Brief System. The Public Defender’s Office grapples with an overwhelming caseload and is under-resourced, with only six attorneys available. The Working Group calls on the authorities to improve access to legal assistance by strengthening significantly of the the Public Defender’s Office.”

Prison conditions

 The Working Group highlighted familiar concerns about overcrowding at the prison, particularly in the maximum-security section, where slop buckets are still used and there is a lack of running water and adequate sanitation.

 “The Working Group received information that some detainees suffered vision loss due to their detention in darkness,” the report said.

 The report also raises other concerns, noting recurrent complaints about detainees’ inability to access medical care and the absence of treatment for drug-dependent people.

 “The Working Group concludes that conditions of detention do not meet international standards,” the report said. Among other things, detainees do not spend enough time outside in fresh air.

 The report added: “The Working Group is furthermore deeply concerned that inmates have not been allowed family visits since the outbreak of COVID-19. The Working Group was informed that inmates could contact their families by telephone, but this is dependent on their families placing money on their telephone account.

“Moreover, many phones in the maximum- security section did not function. In the remand section, detainees have no access to phones and must request that prison officers communicate any messages to their family or lawyer. Consistent testimonies indicated that such requests were often not heeded and hindered their ability to contact their family and seek legal representation.

 “Such restrictions run counter to principle 19 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment and rules 43 and 58 of the Nelson Mandela Rules. The Working Group urges the authorities to urgently reinstate family visitations.

 “The Working Group finds that the absence of any conjugal visits in the correctional facilities affects family situations and jeopardises the return to society. Furthermore, the Group expresses its concern on the practice of separating newborn babies from detained women.”

 The Working Group found it concerning that children detained in correctional facilities do not have access to regular education. Regarding those kept at the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys and Willie Mae Pratt Centre for Girls, the Group said it is regrettable that some are confined to detention centres for minor infractions.

Detention of people with psychosocial disabilities

 The Working Group noted that some people have stayed at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre for over 30 years, with the shortage of community-based services potentially causing some to remain at the centre indefinitely when they could be discharged.

 The group called conditions at two psychiatric wards at the prison “deplorable”. The wards are for people who commit criminal acts but are not competent to undergo criminal proceedings due to their psychosocial disabilities.