PRESS RELEASE Statement from the Prison Foundation Sierra Leone (PFSL) Wednesday 17th September 2014 – FREETOWN: Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Prison Foundation Sierra Leone and Sierra Leone Prison Services, we are pleased to announce that this is an indication of our credibility and relevance in handling issues concerning prisoners’ human rights and related matters. It is our mandate to protect the rights of prisoners across the country in all holding facilities. In this regard, and with the MoU as our guide, we shall further seek to partner with the Police, Military and civil society organizations, in order to ensure that prisons and detention centers across the country are well equipped with facilities and trained personnel to manage the prisoners. It is our responsibility to urge Parliament to speedily pass into law the Correctional Services Bill, which, in our opinion, is long overdue. We therefore call on Parliament to speedily enact this Bill into law, so that the prison system in this country could transform into a correctional services which would ensure that inmates are gainfully engaged whilst serving their sentence and after gaining their freedom, they can easily reintegrate into society to become useful citizens; thus, reducing crime rate and creating employment. However, it is a matter of serious concern to Prison Foundation Sierra Leone when we imagine that ordinary people outside of prison walls are dying of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). We cannot help wondering what could happen behind prison walls in the face of this raging Ebola outbreak. We are therefore calling on the relevant authorities to provide the requisite health care and preventive measures at all detention centers and prisons across the country in order to ensure prisoners are protected from the Ebola virus. We commend the efforts and initiatives of President Ernest Bai Koroma and all stakeholders in this national fight and we pledge our support towards any venture which would see an eradication of this dreaded disease in our beloved country. Sing; Executive Director, Mr. Moisa Sallu Keikura
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 18:22:10 +0000