Good Friday 2015 Your Excellency, We, the undersigned, welcome the efforts made by the Republic of the Congo to modernise its prison and judicial infrastructures and to increase the knowledge of public officers and employees in respect of human rights. Nonetheless, we remain very concerned by reports of persistent and frequent acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments in the country, especially in detention centres, police and Gendarmerie stations. These serious human rights violations are rarely investigated or prosecuted. Poor conditions of detention, especially as regards inadequate diet and a severe lack, and sometimes total absence, of medical care, together with extreme prison overcrowding, the mixing of adult and minor prisoners and individuals being held in pre-trial detention for excessively long periods of time all constitute degrading treatments. According to a study carried out in 2014, the prisons and detention centres in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire, which can accommodate 150 and 75 people, were housing 725 and 240 detainees respectively, which amounts to an occupancy rate of 483 and 320 percent. In view of this worrying situation, we invite the authorities of the Republic of the Congo to: carry out investigations into allegations of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and deaths that have occurred in prisons and detention centres in order to identify and punish those responsible, as well as systematically conduct autopsies whenever a death occurs in detention; immediately take adequate measures to improve conditions of detention and ensure that inmates are provided with medical care along with adequate amounts of healthy and nutritious food and the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners are respected; drastically reduce prison overcrowding, especially by strictly enforcing the time limits for provisional arrests and pre-trial detentions set out in the law, ending illegal pre-trial detention, arbitrary arrests and incarcerations and by introducing alternatives to imprisonment in the form of community service; take the necessary steps to safeguard the fundamental rights and guarantees of all persons deprived of liberty from the moment of their arrest, to protect their right to a defence and to legal counsel and to ensure that every employee responsible for implementing the law receives training on human rights and the fundamental rights of persons deprived of liberty. Your Excellency, we hope to see an improvement in conditions of detention and the full respect of the human rights and fundamental guarantees of persons deprived of liberty in the Republic of the Congo.
Yours sincerely,
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Continued on the reverse side ACAT-Suisse Pétition Suisse – 10 décembre 2014
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Anyone, irrespective of age, nationality or residence can sign this petition.
Please send this petition by 15 April 2015 to:
ACAT-Switzerland, “Good Friday”, P.O. Box, 3001 Berne, Switzerland
ACAT-Suisse Speichergasse 29, Case postale CH-3001 Berne Tél. +41 (0)31 312 20 44 Fax +41 (0)31 312 58 11 [email protected] - www.acat.ch Compte postal 12-39693-7
Merci de votre soutien ! ACAT-Suisse Pétition Suisse – 10 décembre 2014
You can find more information and forms at www.acat.ch
ACAT-Suisse Speichergasse 29, Case postale CH-3001 Berne Tél. +41 (0)31 312 20 44 Fax +41 (0)31 312 58 11 [email protected] - www.acat.ch Compte postal 12-39693-7
Merci de votre soutien !