EMBASSY VISITS TO TWO SMALL PRISONS SUGGEST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000658 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR EAID KPAO MR SUBJECT: EMBASSY VISITS TO TWO SMALL PRISONS SUGGEST IMPROVING CONDITIONS IN MAURITANIAN PRISON SYSTEM REF: A. 05NOUAKCHOTT 1480 ¶B. 05NOUAKCHOTT 1483 ¶C. 05NOUAKCHOTT 1302 ¶D. 05NOUAKCHOTT 1070 Classified By: Amb. Joseph LeBaron, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) -------------- (U) Introductory Note -------------- -- Mauritania has only prisons, no jails, and the prisons themselves can be quite small. The cable below reports a recent Embassy visit to two small prisons of about a dozen inmates each, including those awaiting trial. Regardless of the crime and regardless of adjudication, all inmates are held together. Women and minors are housed separately, however. -------------- (C) Key Points -------------- -- Embassy Poloff visited two small temporary prisons in southeastern Mauritania May 18. -- The physical conditions in the prisons at Ayoun, which held 12 inmates, and Nema, which held 11, were predictably poor. But none of the 23 inmates appeared afraid of the guards, and none appeared to have been mistreated. -- That was surprising. ICRC reps had visited both temporary prisons just last month, and they reported seeing chained inmates who were "seriously frightened" of the guards. -------------- (C) Comments -------------- -- The ICRC attributes the improved conditions in the Nema prison to its strong complaint to the Director of Prisons about prison conditions. The ICRC is probably right about the impact of its complaint. International pressure to improve conditions in Mauritania's correctional facilities can be very effective. -- Also, prison officials outside the capital are receptive to international interest. They know that such interest can generate resources for them from the central government. -- In close coordination with the ICRC, Embassy will continue prodding the Mauritanian central government to make further progress. We think the Embassy and ICRC's interest in improving prison conditions have had an important impact. But much remains to be done in Mauritania's correctional facilities. End Introductory note, Key Points and Comments. ¶1. (C) On May 18 Poloff visited two small prisons in the remote southeastern towns of Ayoun and Nema as part of an ongoing effort to investigate reports we have received alleging torture and dreadful confinement conditions. This was the Embassy,s first visit to these two prisons. Poloff spoke with four Justice Ministry and prison officials, 11 guards, and all 23 inmates. ¶2. (C) Both prisons temporarily occupy buildings rented by the central government during the repair and reconstruction of permanent prisons in the two towns. While work had not yet begun on either permanent correctional facility, Poloff visited both the old prisons and the temporary prisons in each town to get a sense of current and past prison conditions. ¶3. (C) The physical conditions in the small temporary prisons of Ayoun and Nema proved no different from the physical conditions observed in PolOff's 2005 visits in the central prison in Nouakchott (currently housing 551 prisoners),or prisons in Nouadhibou (97 prisoners) and Rosso (43 prisoners) (reftels). NOUAKCHOTT 00000658 002 OF 003 ¶4. (C) Significantly, and in stark contrast with PolOff's earlier visits to Mauritania's confinement facilities, the inmates in Ayoun and Nema did not appear afraid of the guards, nor did their appearances indicate obvious signs of maltreatment. Several inmates did complain of insufficient food and a lack of space to exercise, but none reported maltreatment from guards. ¶5. (C) Note: Poloff spoke to several inmates in relative privacy, giving them greater freedom to report maltreatment, but again no such reports were made. End Note. ¶6. (C) While the inmates appeared thin, none was obviously malnourished, and none appeared to be suffering from noticeable skin illnesses, in contrast to visits to other prisons in 2005. ¶7. (C) As in the other correctional facilities, detainees awaiting trial were housed with those already convicted of various crimes. In Ayoun, the longest period of detention among the four detainees awaiting trial was one month. Of the four detainees in Nema, one had been waiting eight months for a trial, a second, six months. ¶8. (C) Note: Jails in the United States typically confine persons before and after adjudication, of course. Housing those awaiting trial, therefore, is not, in and of itself, a poor practice. But the length of time spent awaiting trial seems to be a human rights abuse. End Note. ¶9. (C) Officials in both prisons indicated that inmates were only guaranteed one visit per year by a judge, meaning that a detainee could wait up to one year for a trial if the detainee had arrived at the prison just after the judge's annual visit. ¶10. (C) Prison officials in Ayoun said that in response to their efforts to pressure judges to make more frequent visits, the Ayoun prison had already received two judicial visits in 2006. A third is planned for July. They credited these more regular visits with the shorter pre-trial detention periods for their detainees. ¶11. (C) When asked about Mauritania's law requiring those who are arrested to be either tried or released from prison within one month, officials in both prisons said that detainees could be held longer than one month -- if the government needed more time to build its case. Judges, in their annual visits, analyze each case and determine whether the detainee should be tried or released, the officials explained. ¶12. (C) Ayoun prison officials have taken more steps to accelerate the processing of detainees awaiting trial than have prison officials in Nema. But both prisons had shorter pretrial detention terms than the other facilities we visited in 2005. Some detainees in those facilities had been held for several years without trial (see refs). -------------- -------------- DRAMATIC DIFFERENCES IN WHAT ICRC FOUND ONE MONTH EARLIER -------------- -------------- ¶13. (C) Following the prison visits, Poloff met with ICRC representative Juan Fuertes to compare findings. The conditions observed in the Nema prison appeared to have changed dramatically in just one month. ¶14. (C) ICRC reps had visited both prisons in April, and while the findings in Ayoun were quite similar, in Nema Fuertes reported that all inmates were shackled "at the wrists and ankles," and that inmates appeared "seriously frightened" of the guards. During Poloff's visit to Nema only one inmate was in chains, and guards explained that this was a rare preventative measure for this particular inmate who had recently assaulted a guard. (Embassy Note: Fuertes had previously advised Poloff on how to scan inmates for signs of torture or shackling. Poloff preformed such scans and only saw one other inmate who showed signs of shackling, indicating that the other inmates had likely not been NOUAKCHOTT 00000658 003 OF 003 shackled within at least the previous several weeks. End note.) ¶15. (C) Fuertes was "surprised and pleased" by post's findings of improved conditions. He attributed the positive changes to ICRC's "strong denouncement of conditions to Mrs. Kane" (the Director of Prisons) following ICRC's April visit. "We submitted our trip findings and urged Mrs. Kane to take action to improve these conditions," Fuertes said, adding that "I'm pleased that she apparently followed through." ¶16. (C) When asked about the noticeable change in the perceived fear of the prisoners, Fuertes said "its surprising, but not completely...after several weeks to a month without being shackled or abused, prisoners would likely feel and appear more at ease." ¶17. (C) Fuertes would not comment on whether the ICRC had seen indications of beatings or torture during their visit to Nema, though he left the strong impression that they had. -------------- PRISON CONDITIONS -------------- ¶18. (C) The current Ayoun prison, which the government began renting in August 2005, is a large house that has had metal doors and bars installed to secure inmates. There is poor lighting and sanitation, but the ventilation (aided by several ceiling fans) is good, which reduces the overall odor and keeps internal temperatures lower during the summer. The house has three rooms/cells and a common toilet and shower room. The abandoned prison, which is approximately 50 percent collapsed, is a much larger facility with 8 cells around a common courtyard. During Poloff's visit there were 12 prisoners in Ayoun (eight convicted and four people awaiting trial). ¶19. (C) The current Nema prison, which officials said has been used for several years, is a dilapidated structure that is partially collapsed. The prison has proper prison doors and bars, and appears to have been constructed as a prison, rather than converted into one, as in Ayoun. There are five cells, which during Poloff's visit housed 11 inmates (seven convicted and four detainees). Sanitation and lighting were very poor, but ventilation was acceptable. Inmates used a toilet and shower that they accessed through a partially collapsed wall. The "permanent" prison was completely demolished and is now little more than a vacant lot and well. ¶20. (C) Both prisons offered bread and Mauritanian tea for breakfast and either couscous or rice for dinner. Inmates with medical ailments are sent to either a local doctor, or to the central prison in Nouakchott for treatment. ¶21. (C) Both inmates and guards agreed that the prisons were in poor physical condition, and that these conditions resulted in additional hardships for inmates and guards alike. Prison officials asked for the Embassy's help in getting the central government to provide the money needed to repair or rebuild the permanent prisons, and increase nutritional and medical services for inmates. LeBaron