The News Review:

- S Leone prisons ‘threaten peace’
- Last of Liberian refugees to exit S Leone
- Forgotten victims still suffering

S Leone prisons ‘threaten peace’
BBC News – Jun 22, 2007
Many inmates endure squalid conditions, including overcrowding, poor hygiene and inadequate food, it says. The report was presented to the government by the UN’s Victor Angelo. He said that not protecting the human rights of any group endangered the consolidation of peace in Sierra Leone after its decade-long civil war. About 50,000 people were killed, and many more maimed and raped in the conflict which ended in 2002. MalariaThe report – called Behind Walls: An Inventory and Assessment of Prisons in Sierra Leone – says a large number of prisoners across the country are on remand or awaiting trial. Many prisoners had been in lock-ups for two years without indictment or a court appearance, including a sizeable number of children. About 90% of prisoners interviewed in the country’s 13 prisons did not have any legal representation during their trials.

Last of Liberian refugees to exit S Leone
Independent Online – Jun 22, 2007
“Since we began repatriating Liberians, about 47 769 have been sent back and the last batch of 300 are expected to return at the end of the month when our programme lapses,” UNHCR representative Elike Segbo told a news conference. Of the group, 16 000 Liberian refugees were resettled in third countries, notably the United States, Canada and Australia, he said. Sierra Leone was host to more than 54 000 Liberians who fled a 14-year civil war which ended in the nearby country in 2003. At the height of the Liberian crisis, about 850 000 people were displaced by violence, the majority of whom sought asylum in neighbouring countries. Last year about 169 000 registered Liberian refugees remained in various countries across west Africa.

Forgotten victims still suffering
New Statesman – Jun 22, 2007
Now, 17, without the possibility of having children of her own; crippled, and with poor eyesight, she survives with no government assistance, nor reparations from those responsible. Her situation is a direct consequences of the sustained rape, torture and sexual violence that she experienced in captivity. In 2002 at the end of Sierra Leones conflict the Special Court was set up in Sierra Leone. Its aim is to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for the serious violations of international humanitarian law. In Charles Taylor’s case, the court was moved to The Hague for security reasons. His trial will cover crimes specific to women, including sexual violence, rape, sexual slavery and outrages of personal dignity. As well as Taylor, the Court is trying nine others, some of whom are also accused of sexual crimes, such as rape and forced marriage.