Alleged beating of Somali prisoner by officer
According to reports,
a gurkha officer assaulted an 18 year-old Somali at Montagne Posée. The
authorities have been mute on the subject despite attempts to obtain their
reaction.
A Somali pirate
imprisoned at Montagne Posée, going by the name Abid–Assen, was reportedly
assaulted on Monday by a gurkha officer. The prisoner is believed to be around
18 years of age. Very little information is available about the incident so
far. The prison authorities as well as the ministry of Home Affairs have
refused to comment on the allegations.
Lawyer Nichol Gabriel
is currently involve in the case and has written to the prison authorities to
ask for a report of the incident. Mr Gabriel had not heard
anything from the authorities.
Abid-Assen was
admitted to the Seychelles hospital for one night after the assault on Monday.
Unconfirmed sources say the man was vomiting blood before his transfer to the
hospital.
According to witnesses,
a gurkha officer going by the name of Harry, slapped the young man after which
he reportedly passed out. After this, the officer allegedly kicked the
unconscious prisoner.
It is as yet unclear
why this particular prisoner was singled out.
This incident came to
the attention of lawyer Nichol Gabriel who wrote a letter to the prison
authorities, requesting the medical report of his client as well as a report
from the prison authorities on the incident. Gabriel had not received any report from either the ministry of health
or the prison authorities.
Mr Gabriel stated that what happened was “really unfair” and a direct consequence of
the prison authorities’ failure to protect inmates. The lawyer further said
that he intends to sue the prison authorities to prove the officer in question
was at fault.
Contacted, Prison
Superintendant Maxime Tirant has refused to comment on the incident. The liason
officer for prisons at the ministry of Home Affairs also declined to comment.
Seychelles is among
21 countries worldwide that detain Somali pirates through an agreement with the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). According to an official
document from the UNODC, the prisoners are supposed to follow a rehabilitation
programme to prevent future crime at the Montagne Posée prison.
Source: Today
