By: Henry N. Kolenky
MONROVIA: The Monitor of the Maryland County branch of the Independent Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) Mr. Boniface Nyema is calling on the Government of Liberia and other national and international human rights organizations to make speedy intervention across the fifteen counties of Liberia in favor of the correctional officers to resume normal activities at the various at their respective corrections centers.
Speaking in an interview with our Maryland county correspondent on Wednesday December 6, 2023 Mr. Boniface Nyema disclosed that the corrections officers assigned at the Harper Central Prison have rejected release and detention orders from various courts across Maryland county. The Human Rights County boss said the corrections officers’ go-slow” is as a result of the government failure to pay prison officers who rendered their services during the just ended October 10, and November 14nelections.
He said some money was apportioned for the joint security across the county of which other sectors have received and the corrections staff were left out. Liberia has about six hundred six 606 officers assigned at all of the prison facilities and only eight persons received the money for the just ended elections. The prison facilities of Liberia are not releasing nor admitting pretrial detainees, Nyema noted.
According to him, all of the prison superintendents are not part of the strike action that is hindering speedy trial in the justice system; only junior officers are involved. The action of the prison guards is hidden from both convicts and pretrial detainees to prevent the prisoners from striking. Detainees have overstayed in police custody and the justice system is cloaked, the Human Rights monitor told journalists.
Boniface Nyema described the action of the security as a complete blockage to the justice system and wants the government and partners to act immediately before the situation goes out of hand. The acts of delaying the compensation of the prison securities is abusing the rights of others who are to be free from the prisons.
Meanwhile the human rights monitor said over twenty one 21 pretrial detainees have spent almost one year plus behind bars something he described as tempering with the rights of the others. He further narrated that the Harper Central prison is lacking food, cooking utensils, mobility, bed line and mess buckets.
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