SEYCHELLES PRISON SYSTEM: BAD ENOUGH WITHOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT LOUIS 000169

SIPDIS

AF/E FOR MARIA BEYZEROV
AF/RSO FOR JUN BANDO AND MIKE BITTRICK
S/P FOR PETER HARELL
L FOR BUCHHOLS AND BINIAZ
ANTAN FOR DAO
NAIROBI FOR KUSLO
PRETORIA FOR LEGATT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2009
TAGS: PHUM MARR PREL MASS MOPPS KCRM SE
SUBJECT: SEYCHELLES PRISON SYSTEM: BAD ENOUGH WITHOUT
ADDING PIRATES

REF: A. PORT LOUIS 38

B. PORT LOUIS 137

C. PORT LOUIS 143

D. PORT LOUIS 146

E. PORT LOUIS 144

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Virginia Blaser for reasons 1.4 (b and
d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Incidents of piracy have threatened the
economic livelihood of the Seychelles, yet the small and
troubled island nation lacks the infrastructure to house a
potential influx of pirates, and is barely capable of
detaining the alleged pirates in custody now. A recent
preliminary report by the independent, newly-formed
Seychelles National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) adds a new
dimension to the negative picture of the Seychelles' prison
system and its violations of human rights. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) This message continues a series on Seychelles'
responses to piracy (reftels). Piracy incidents in
Seychelles' Exclusive Economic Zone have threatened tourism
and fisheries, the twin pillars of its prosperity (ref B).
However, the Seychelles' fragile democracy, debt-wracked
economy, and uncertain legal system make trials and detention
of pirates there problematic at best (ref C and previous).
In this message, the status of Seychelles' overcrowded and
troubled prison system throws additional light on the
question of a Seychellois response to piracy.

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Prison Update
--------------


3. (U) The Montagne Posee Prison (MPP),now the only prison
facility on Seychelles, can hold a maximum of 400 inmates.
It was built to replace the Long Island prison, and received
its first inmates in September 2006. Until the completion of
the women's wing in February 2009, part of the male prison
was sectioned off to accommodate the female prisoners.
According to a recent report by an independent commission, as
of March 11 the MPP's population stood at 317, consisting of
194 convicted men, 12 convicted women, 106 men on remand,
three women on remand, one "civil imprisonment" and one
sentenced at "the President's pleasure." According to press
reports, the alleged pirates in custody are separated, based
on how they were captured, in three groups at three different
police detention centers away from the MPP. According to AG
Govinden, this separation from Seychellois is for their own
safety.

--------------
Options For Detaining Pirates
--------------


4. (SBU) In May 5 and 6 meetings (see reftels) with contacts
such as the President and his Principal Secretary, the
Attorney General, the Director of the Financial Intelligence
Unit (FIU),and the Leader of the Opposition, Charge
D'Affaires was told by all counterparts that Seychelles lacks
the capacity to detain any new influx of pirates and barely
has the capacity to detain the suspect pirates in custody
now. In a May 5 meeting with CDA Blaser, Principal Secretary
(PS) Jean Paul Adam, Office of the President, was the first
to raise the issue of the courts' immense backlog and how new
piracy cases would force them to create new options due to
their lack of capacity. The backlog issue was similarly
raised by the Attorney General and the Opposition Leader in
subsequent meetings with CDA.


5. (C) Attorney General (AG) Ronny Govinden offered the
following three options: renovating and reopening the closed
High Security Prison and other detention facilities,
releasing remand prisoners charged with lesser crimes to
accommodate incoming pirates, or, "building an outer island
prison a la Guantanamo." Govinden's options represent the
full spectrum of options raised by Post contacts in separate

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meetings. For example, in separate May 5 meetings with CDA,
FIU Director Declan Barber and Opposition Leader Wavel
Ramkalawan also mentioned that since Seychelles does not
currently have sufficient prison space it would have to begin
releasing remand prisoners if an influx of pirates were to be
detained.


6. (C) As for the first option of renovating and reopening
old facilities, Post contacts were not shy about needing
assistance from development partners in almost every phase of
renovation given the current economic status of Seychelles.
"If we are expected to cooperate, it comes with a price tag
because we do not have money," AG Govinden stressed. That
said, however, the overcrowding of MPP and lack of separation
between remandees and prisoners was an issue before the
piracy problem. The local press reported that the Department
of Internal Affairs plans to begin building separate
buildings at MPP to house juvenile and remand prisoners
within a year. Meanwhile, the opposition party weekly
"Regar" reported in late April that renovations have been
underway at the former Grand Police High Security prison for
some time, although authorities deny that it will be used
again to house prisoners.


7. (C) Post contacts shared negative views on the option of
releasing remand prisoners charged with lesser crimes in
order to increase capacity to detain pirates, suggesting it
should be employed only as a last resort. There is a
palpable public fear in Seychelles over a recent rash of
prison escapes, and Seychellois in general do not want the
accused released (ref A). As for the creation of an outer
island prison, AG Govinden suggested to CDA that this is
actually an option being considered by a newly-formed high
commission on piracy, but did recognize that it would be a
costly option in tough economic times.

--------------
The Human Rights Factor
--------------


8. (C) Post has previously noted the poor conditions and
reported human rights violations at the MPP (ref A). After
recent violent incidents occurred in the prison on March 6,
11, and 15, the GOS commissioned an independent human rights
investigation team from the NHRC to inspect the prisons. On
March 23, the NHRC presented a draft report to opposition
leader Wavel Ramkalawan and President James Michel that
echoed Post reporting on human rights violations and subpar
prison conditions. Ramkalawan gave a copy of this draft
report to EMBOFFS in a May 6 meeting. While the report is
purposefully structured to capture what occurred in the
aforementioned violent incidents, it acknowledges that the
underlying issues contributing to prison unrest will need
in-depth study and long-term solutions. The general overview
section captures the story of MPP in a sentence: "It was
supposed to be a modern prison but from the beginning of its
operation it fell well short of expectation."


9. (C) The NHRC report concluded in no uncertain terms that
"the human rights of the inmates were violated and their
safety and security were seriously compromised by the action
of the prison authorities," based on recounts of prisoner
beatings, use of attack dogs, and observations of inhumane
prison conditions strikingly similar to those reported
earlier by Post. NHRC similarly noted a breakdown in prison
authority, due to the MPP superintendent's lack of prison
management experience, that may have led to the violence.
(NOTE: Prison Superintendent Gelage Hoareau, a former army
officer, was eventually sacked in May 2009. END NOTE.) In
addition to the disciplinary problems and excessive use of
force, the NHRC noted that the prison regularly ran out of
basic necessities, which added tension to an already volatile
atmosphere and may have sparked the March 11 violent
incident.


10. (C) The NHRC report gives 13 recommendations going
forward, and all seemed to underscore the lack of prison

PORT LOUIS 00000169 003 OF 003


capacity and ways to confront this reality. Standout
recommendations include:

--other institutions should collaborate in order to reduce
the number of remand prisoners in MPP. (NOTE: 34 percent of
the prison population are remand prisoners. The backlog of
the judiciary system is regularly blamed for prison
overcrowding and prolonged remand prisoner detention. END
NOTE.)

--remand prisoners should be kept separate from convicted
ones and juveniles kept separate from adults. (NOTE: On May
27, The Seychelles Nation reported that this recommendation
has already been implemented. END NOTE.)

--basic necessities such as soap, water, and appropriate
utensils should be made available for inmates at all times.
(NOTE: Prisoners signed a petition dated February 8 reporting
water shortages and lack of basic commodities being very
common. END NOTE.)

-- humane sanitation facilities should be put in place.

-- additional staff should be recruited and appropriately
trained, and authority should be clearly demarcated among the
various law enforcement entities present within the prison
premises so as to not undermine the Prison Superintendent's
authority.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) Thus far, the GOS has kept the promise of the
President and others that Seychelles would protect the human
rights of the accused pirates in custody. The GOS has
protected them from public vitriol, properly fed them, and
seeks to provide them with due process and a fair trial.
Given Seychelles' lack of prison capacity and the NHRC
conclusion on recent prison human rights violations, the
promise may be difficult to keep going forward, and would
likely be strained to the breaking point by the addition of
even moderate numbers of piracy suspects or convicts.
BLASER