Lawyers seeking to provide counsel to the hundreds of people detained by the Sierra Leone Police at various police detention facilities across the country were denied access to the jails.
Their families have repeatedly been denied access to them.
The Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) said in a letter to the Inspector General of Police on Wednesday that the ‘SLBA is in receipt of several complaints from its members over the refusal of access to their clients in police detention’ following violent protests in Freetown and some parts of the country which resulted in the deaths of six police officers and dozens of civilians.
The police said on Thursday that 373 people are still being held in custody while 133 others were released recent.
The police said the detainees were arrested during the violent protests and for violating curfew order that was instituted following the protests.
SLBA wishes to express concern over such complaints especially as it appears to be incongruous with the provision of 17(2)(b) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone.
For ease of reference section 17(2)(b,) supra provides:
“(2) Any person who –
b. is arrested or detained shall be informed immediately at the time of his arrest of his right to access to a legal practitioner or any person of his choice, and shall per permitted at his own expense to instruct without delay a legal practitioner of his own choice and to communicate with him confidentially.”
“Consequently, we urge you to inform the relevant personnel to comply with the aforementioned constitutional provision and uphold the human rights of all a persons arrested and detained,” SLBA said in the latter to Inspector General of the Police.
A revered lawyer Lansana Dumbuya said in his letter to the Inspector General of Police that between 8 to 14 August 2022, his clients – Med Kay, John Yapo Bangura, Kadie Conteh, Lưcy Turay, Abubakar Kamara, And Sillah Kamara – were arrested at their homes late in the evening hours by some police officers and remanded at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Benghazi (a police detention facility) and other unknown locations.
He said that he was informed that when relatives received rumours that the suspects were detained at Benghazi, “some of them attempted to visit the suspects in custody to enquire on the reason (s) of their arrest and detention, but they were prevented from doing so”.
He noted that since the suspects wero arrested and detained, they have neither had access to their lawyers, nor do the lawyers or their relatives know their current place of detention. “Please note that such a stance by the police contravenes the 1991 Constitution and it also amounts to an incommunicado detention and is against the Criminal Justice system and is also against the principle of natural justice.”
Dumbuya Esq. said, “In view of the foregoing, I request, in the interest of justice and preservation of the law, to show their current place of detention and to also instruct your officers to allow me and other lawyers access to the suspects, so we can be well informed about the allegation (s) against them and to also have conference with them.”
As a result of the letters written to head of the police, Premier News was reliably informed that lawyers on Friday got access to some of the detainees.
By Alusine Sesay