LAB decongest prison In Koidu
The
Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles
has hailed the authorities in the justice sector in Kono for decongesting the
prisons. This follows the bold decision not to admit juveniles into the
correctional center in the city. Reason being the center is not meant for
juveniles.
‘This is the lawful thing to do because the
whole of Kono District like ten other districts upcountry do not have a
detention facility for juveniles,’ she said.
‘Child suspects or accused refused bail should either be sent to Bo or
Freetown which have a juvenile home. Before now, the juveniles refused bail are
not sent to the remand home in Bo but kept in the adult correctional center. We
have spoken against keeping juveniles in adult cells and prisons. We are delighted
the prison authorities in Kono have listened to us.’
The
decision not to admit juveniles into the correctional center came about after
series of meetings between court officials and the Legal Aid Board Lawyer
Ibrahim Mansaray.
According
to Lawyer Ibrahim Mansaray, the Magistrate in Kono, Ibrahim Yillah has been
very cooperative in granting bail to juvenile offenders. Also, in cases where
there are no sureties, he would grant self-bail for minor offences.
The
disclosure was made at a meeting the Legal Aid Board and Child Protection
Officers of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the conference room of
the Ministry of Justice, Guma Building in Freetown. The meeting discussed legal
assistance to juveniles and the recruitment of children by criminals to
perpetuate violence especially during elections.
By: Joseph Dumbuya
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