Sierra Leone: Political detainees at the Central Prison, Pademba Road, Freetown

Some 270 political detainees are being held incommunicado at the Central Prison, Pademba Road. Most have been held for several months, some for as long as two years, without charge or trial. Amnesty International representatives visited Pademba Road Prison in early May 1993, and found 264 political detainees, including nine women. Until their visit, it was unclear how many were held there or at other places of detention. A list of these detainees is included with this document, which describes the cases of some of those detained. This report also looks at prison conditions following reports that hundreds of prisoners have died since 1991 from torture, starvation or disease. Some prisoners were in serious ill-health as a result of these conditions and other ill-treatment.

View Report in English