Prisoners in Zambia suffer malnutrition, overcrowding, grossly inadequate medical care, and the risk of rape or torture, the Prisons Care and Counselling Association (PRISCCA), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), and Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Some prisoners are detained for years in such conditions even before they are brought to trial, the groups said.
The 135-page report, "Unjust and Unhealthy: HIV, TB, and Abuse in Zambian Prisons," documents the failure of the Zambian prison authority to provide basic nutrition, sanitation, and housing for prisoners, and of the criminal justice system to ensure speedy trials and appeals, and to make the fullest use of non-custodial alternatives. Poor conditions and minimal medical care for prisoners lead to the transmission of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) – including difficult-to-treat and potentially deadly drug-resistant strains – that threaten the lives of both inmates and the general public, the report says.
“Zambian prisoners are starved, packed into cells unfit for human habitation, and face beatings at the hands of certain guards or fellow inmates,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Children, pregnant women, pre-trial detainees, and convicted criminals are condemned to brutal treatment and are at serious risk of drug-resistant TB and HIV infection.”
http://arasa.info/ZambiaPrisons
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