Handle prisoners with care – Amnesty International tells government

Amnesty International has called on government and the Ghana Prisons Service to desist from the habitual torturing of inmates and critically pay attention to them.

According to the group, governments over the years have looked down on the prison institution and this attitude displayed prevents prisoners from enjoying their human rights.

Speaking on the preconceived thoughts Ghanaians and authorities have about prisoners, Amnesty International stated that, “This notion appears to have negatively influenced successive Governments to look down on the prison institution, preventing them from fulfilling the constitutional obligation enshrined in our statute books on the promotion of the human rights of prisoners”.

In a press release copied to GhanaWeb, it added that, “it is not surprising therefore that out of the 44 prisons in the country, 39 are still relics of the pre-independence era, some of which served as warehouses used by colonialists and merchants".

The release further noted that, the harsh design of Ghana’s colonial prison cells, poor lighting and ventilation have led to persistent outbreak of communicable diseases in most of the prisons and in some extreme cases, the loss of lives.