For well over a year now, this newspaper has been sounding the alarm bells about physical abuse of prisoners and detainees at the Montagne Posee prison. In June this year, in our issue No. 20 dated 01st June, 2007, in a front page article we reported how a young man, Patrick Sopha, who had been remanded in custody at the prison, had told a Supreme Court judge that he was removed from his cell in the middle of the night by prison wardens and handed over to a group of five SSU police officers who took him to a dark room where he was physically and sexually assaulted by them. Sopha gave the names of the five alleged abusers as police officers Florentine, Pillay, Hollanda, Dogley and Mondon.
Sadly, the situation at the
We have managed to obtain one of the weapons currently being used as an instrument of torture and beatings at the prison (see photo). According to the affidavit we have seen, there are approximately 5 of these sinister weapons available. They are constructed from galvanised water pipes collected during construction of the prison and crudely welded together. A red plastic material has been used to cover the steel bar providing not only a grip for the user, but also so that the metal pipe does not get directly into contact with human flesh. The steel pipes were welded together to look like a police truncheon by the perpetrators of the abuse at the prison.
It is a homemade truncheon, as depicted on our front page. And this human being can well be you or someone close to you one day, if nothing is done to stop them. It was not an easy operation to lay our hands on the weapon, but, we succeeded through sheer determination. The weapon which is now in the hands of a foreign human rights organisation will be used as proof and evidence against these officers in a possible criminal prosecution.
The names that are consistently being mentioned as associated with these atrocities are Daniel Florentine, Daniel Dogley and Joachim Pillay. Florentine is an ex-army officer whereas Daniel Dogley is an ex-convict who served time for attempting to put poison in the water tank at former President Rene’s home at l’Exile in 1992. Most disturbingly, the South African advisor at the prison has also been named as having taken part in at least one episode of beatings in the CCTV control centre. The report also names SI Gino Eulentin and Corporal Mondon, two prison officers, as having either participated in the beatings or have directly been witnesses to some of them.
In a past issue we reported on the plight of Martin Melanie at the hands of the same group of officers. Martin is suspected of being mentally retarded and should not have been detained at the
There are credible allegations against the Superintendent of Prison, Mr Gelase Hoareau, of having taken part in some of the abuses, as well as having full knowledge of what is going on at the prison. It is understood that he has preferred to adopt the attitude of complete denial of all existence of torture and brutality on the inmates under his care, because of the adverse consequence to his leadership among his subordinates, which include ex-army officers.
Moreover, the very reliable report says, the abuse is being conducted inside the control room, where all the tv screens monitoring the CCTVs (Closed Circuit TV) cameras are located. There is no camera inside the control room. There is also another room which does not have a CCTV camera installed, where beatings and other physical abuse are occurring. These rooms are not sound proof and some prisoners have resorted to complaining loudly and hurling abuses at the guards from their cells whenever they hear cries from the victims. On at least one occasion, a prisoner who had shouted a complaint from the cell was later taken to the control room to witness an abuse, as if to show the complainant that they are a law unto themselves.
At this stage we will not divulge more information to protect our sources. However, we are hoping that this time the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Gerard Waye-Hive, will treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves. A full criminal investigation ought to be conducted by the police with a view to bring the people responsible for these brutal and monstrous practices to justice and to put an end to this barbaric behaviour once and for all in our country.
If Seychelles is to become the paradise that we all aspire it to be, President Michel must see to it that all form of inhumane and degrading treatment at the hands of criminal element which has infiltrated the police force are rooted out completely. Right now, our modern and purpose-built prison has become a den where serious Human Rights violation, including torture and beatings, are commonplace.
ARTICLE 16 (
Every person has a right to be treated with dignity worthy of a human being and not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
SEYCHELLOIS CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS