Corruption, police abuse, the slow pace of criminal judicial proceedings in T&T along with the overcrowding issue in the prisons were some of the major issues that were highlighted in the US Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015. The report was transmitted to the US Congress by Secretary of State, John Kerry, on Wednesday.
It also said conditions in some of the prison system’s nine facilities in T&T continued to be harsh. The document disclosed that convicted inmates constituted approximately 37 per cent of T&T’s average prison population, while 63 per cent in pre-trial status.
“Observers often described the Port-of-Spain Prison, the Maximum Security Prison (MSP) and the Remand Prison, which held about 56 per cent of the prisoners, as having particularly poor conditions and severe overcrowding, with as many as nine prisoners kept in six-by-eight-foot cells.
A prison guard, according to the report, said that MSP was “not fit for human habitation,” with some prisoners forced to sleep standing up, as there was no room to sit.
The Port-of-Spain Prison, designed to hold 250 inmates, held 652, and the Remand Prison, designed to hold 655 inmates, held 1,024.
The Port-of-Spain and Remand Prisons had particularly poor lighting, ventilation and sanitation facilities. The daily average female prison population was 130 in facilities with a maximum capacity of 158. Observers raised concerns that the women’s prison also held young girls who had not committed any offence but who were in state custody.
With respect to the Immigration Detention Centre, the report stated that the average length of detention was one week to two months, depending on the speed with which the Government secured public funding for deportation, as well as transit passports and visas. In some cases, detention lasted more than four years. Observers reported that the men’s section was overcrowded.
Prisoner abuse and medical neglect were also highlighted problems in the report. The report mentioned that in June, 25 prisoners were injured in a riot. It disclosed that there was one high-profile case of a murder suspect suing the Prison Service for denying his right to attend weekly religious services.
The report noted that the Government permitted regular and open prison visits by UN officials and independent human rights observers upon approval of the Ministry of Justice.
During the year the prison service improved the security of its prison facilities, including the use of more modern surveillance technologies and stronger collaboration with external security agencies. Officials also introduced religious and cultural programmes in an effort to rehabilitate inmates more effectively.
Reports of abuses by police remained under investigation at year’s end.
Many lawsuits filed in 2012 by some of the approximately 450 suspects detained during the 2011 state of emergency remained pending before the courts. As of October 2015, the Government had resolved two lawsuits and paid more than $1 million to victims.
Also, in highlighting police killings and abuse, the report stated that according to official figures, police shot and killed 11 people through October, compared with 45 in all of 2014.
On February 25, approximately 12 police officers allegedly beat, stripped and threw boiling water over the groin area of larceny suspect Andrew Lewis during an interrogation at Sangre Grande Police Station. Medical and police sources confirmed that Lewis suffered extensive injuries requiring plastic surgery and a catheter for urination.
On March 4, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) initiated an investigation and forwarded its recommendations to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on April 15; the case continued at year’s end.
Also on February 25, two police officers assigned to the Maraval Police Station stopped a woman suspected of possessing marijuana at a roadblock, took her into custody, and drove her to a remote area, where one of the officers sexually assaulted her.
The other police officers allegedly offered the victim money to keep quiet. On March 9, authorities charged the perpetrators with nine criminal offences, including indecent assault and grievous sexual assault.
General election 2015/political issues
The report said during the campaign it was noted a “surge of vitriolic and personal attacks exchanged between political parties,” despite the major parties being signatories to the voluntary code of ethical political conduct. Observers also noted the “lack of transparency and accountability regarding the financing of political parties.” Many experts raised concerns that the lack of campaign finance rules gives any incumbent party an advantage.