Forum discusses remandees’ rights

By MARJORIE FINKEO
A FORUM on human rights has been told that around half of people in prisons are those on remand awaiting their court cases which often take a long time to hear and complete.
The Human Rights Forum held in Port Moresby was attended by civil society groups and non-governmental organisations.
New Guinea Islands Assistant Commissioner Philip Eka said many prison breakouts involved people on remand awaiting the completion of their cases which took “ages”.
He said it often caused frustration among those on remand, forcing them to escape during hospital leave or when assigned to community service work.
He said some got killed and injured during their attempts to escape.
Eka said there were other rehabilitation programmes to benefit prisoners. For example, detainees at Bomana have so far written 23 books.
The forum also heard that monthly visits by authorities to prisons are important to check on how they are operating, whether there is overcrowding, health issues, or mothers with babies not visited by welfare officers.
Officers from the Justice and Attorney-General’s office spoke about the lack of medical equipment in prisons to treat sick inmates.