A civil society organisation,
Centre
for Accountability and Rule of Law – Sierra Leone, has expressed
“grave concern and strong displeasure” over recent comments
reportedly made by the Inspector-General of Police warning that
anyone who commits a crime or is suspected to have done so would be
remanded in prison until after the November 17 general elections.
In a press
release, CARL says “voting is a fundamental right guaranteed by
national and international human rights instruments, and to suggest
that keeping such persons jailed until after the elections would
deprive troublemakers from voting and their candidates from winning
is an infringement on fundamental rights, which the IG has no legal
authority to carry out”.
The organisation
says it has repeatedly spoken out against remand and discretionary
denial of bail as a means of punishment. It says mandatory remand in
prison until after the elections will be a punishment before trial
and will have implications for the suspect's rights regarding
deprivation of personal liberty and the right to vote. It reminds the
inspector general of police that the law obliges that anyone accused
of committing a non-capital offence must be brought before a court of
law within seventy-two hours of their arrest.
The statement says
carrying out such a threat days before elections presupposes
breaching that 72 hours provision. It also challenges the IG for
saying that a person’s criminal record will stop them from taking
part in any democratic process, such as voting, in future, saying no
law exists for such.
CARL-SL says it
“strongly condemns” all forms of violence including any
election-related or politically-motivated ones.
