Monrovia, Liberia -The Prison Fellowship Liberia has made a passionate appeal to the Liberian government and international developing partners to invest in the corrections and rehabilitation sector of the justice system in Liberia in order to raise the profile of its human rights records.
In order to lessen jail overcrowding and improve access to justice, the Fellowship’s Country Director, Reverend Francis Kollie, stated that decentralizing defense attorneys’ services and demonopolizing the judicial system’s legal services are necessary.
Prison Fellowship Liberia’s Country Director, Reverend Francis Kollie during a news conference on Wednesday in Paynesville, urged the Liberian government, via the President’s office, to separate the Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Justice as a separate agency for efficacy and effectiveness from the Ministry.
He stated that Prison Fellowship Liberia is prepared to collaborate with the Ministry of Justice’s current leadership and the Liberian government in order to seek international assistance in complying with the Prison Minimum Standard Rules, which guarantee that prisoners’ rights are upheld and that they receive the necessary training to enable them to reintegrate into society after their release.
The Country Director of Prison Fellowship Liberia has also suggested that the Liberian Bar Association and the judiciary reconsider or alter the regulations that forbid foreign attorneys from practicing in Liberia’s legal system in order to align with best practices worldwide.
The United States Department of Justice recently made public their 2023 human rights reports, which detailed the degrading and potentially fatal conditions found in Monrovia Central Prison as well as other prisons around the nation.
The Prison Fellowship-Liberia’s Director said this needs to be corrected
and prevented in order to avoid the replica of such account about Liberia
in the United States Department human rights report.
According to the Bureau of Correction and Rehabilitation at the Ministry
of Justice, the population of inmates in prison facilities in Liberia
continues to increase with the latest number put between 3,500to
4,000with almost 85 percent consist of pre-trial detainees thus creating
over-crowdedness.
The national government is burdened by the congestion in the prison wards due to their sheer number, especially in light of the recent increase in the cost of staple foods like rice.
Additionally, because of the overcrowding, it acts as a breeding ground for the development of infectious diseases and causes discomfort for the prisoners due to heat.
With the help of Prison Fellowship International and other donors, the PF-Liberia is offering scholarships to over 510 children of inmates, covering their tuition, books, bags, shoes, and medical bills so they won’t be left behind in terms of education, training, and access to the nation’s health services. This is done to ensure that the spouses and children of inmates don’t go without support.
PFL has helped prisoners around the nation with legal assistance over the years with money from the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, UNICEF, OSF, and other donors; nevertheless, the project has slowed pace as a result of donor fatigue and funding shortages.
In light of the current situation, the PFL Country Director is also appealing with the government and community of donors to support the building of the new prison facility in the Township of Cheeseburg, Montserrado County, in order to help alleviate the conditions that inmates in Liberia are currently living in.
In order to resolve some of the minor instances outside of court that are adding to the backlog of cases in courts and jails, Reverend Kollie suggested that the Ministry of Justice give the Alternative Dispute Resolution program careful thought.
Reported by: Augustine Octavius
Contact: +231777463963
Email: augustineoctavius@gmail.com
