AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Media Advisory

AI Index: AMR 14/003/2002 (Public)

News Service No: 142

13 August 2002

Bahamas: Amnesty International reports on visit

At the end of a week long mission to the Bahamas, Amnesty International delegates will hold a press conference to summarize the preliminary findings of their visit, which has included a visit to HM Prison Fox Hill, Carmichael Detention Centre -- where asylum seekers are held alongside other non-authorised migrants -- and several police lock-ups.

The delegation has also held meetings with government authorities including the Prime Minister, the Ministers of National Security, Foreign Affairs and Immigration, the Attorney General and the Commodore of the Bahamas Defence Force, as well as with religious groups and non-governmental organizations.

The press conference will take place on

Friday 16 August 2002 at 11:30 local time

British Colonial Hilton Hotel (Exuma room),

Number One Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas

(telephone: 242 322 3301; fax 242 302 9010)

The panel will comprise:

Piers Bannister, Amnesty International researcher on the English-speaking Caribbean

Professor Rod Morgan, prison management expert and Professor Emeritus (in law?) at the University of Bristol, and

Olivia Streater, Amnesty International researcher on the English-speaking Caribbean

Public Document

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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566

Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org