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Commission
calls for improved treatment of inmates
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ADDIS
ABEBA(July 12 - 13,2008) - The Ethiopian Human Right
Commission (EHRC) on Friday recommended that steps should be taken
to improve the treatment of prisoners at correctional centers in the
country.
Presenting a report on status of prisons in the country, Getahun Kassa,
Executive Director of EHRC said most of the prisons house inmates
twice as much as their capacity which has resulted in lack of infrastructural
facilities, poor sanitation and bedding services.
He said the report recommends that some of these prisons will have
to be closed.
Getahun said five team members of EHRC were sent on a mission top
visit 35 prisons for the last months, as part of the comprehensive
study on the condition of the country's prisons from the point of
view of human rights.
More than 41,750 prisoners were found that among those 2,123 were
women.
Ato Getachew on the observational and revised report of the commission
pointed out that most prisons of the country don't fulfill the minimum
standards of international conventions.
Shortage of water supply, less standard of medical service and lacking
provision of enough water and necessary materials for keeping good
sanitation and hygiene are some of problems observed by the theme
as facing the prisons.
The commission said it did not however found any evidence of torching,
nor heard any complaint of any sort from the inmates the team talked
to.
He said the prisoners' rights to every day visits by their families
and legal consultants were maintained, but inmates must be provided
with a better quality vocational education.
Some measures will have to be taken in order to improve the living
standards and human rights of inmates in a manner it complies with
standard of Ethiopian constitutional and international human right
conventions, the director observed.
Getahun presented his report at a consultative meeting with the Federal
and regional states prison officials at TDS Hotel on Friday.
Some 80,000 prisoners are presently detained in120 prisons that are
found across the country.
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