MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2020) Governments should advance their efforts in releasing detainees from prisons and jails against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the rapid spread of the virus in detention facilities due to poor hygiene conditions and the inability to observe social distancing puts both inmates and staff at serious risk of being infected, a prominent human rights watchdog said on Wednesday.
In late March, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, urged governments to step up efforts to reduce the number of detained people amid the pandemic, warning of "catastrophic consequences" otherwise. Among other measures, the commissioner called for the urgent release of vulnerable detainees and low-level offenders.
"Prisoner releases have been too few and too slow, contributing to preventable suffering and death. Governments should urgently accelerate the releases - whether early, temporary, or conditional. Many detainees have not been convicted of any crime, and do not pose a security risk," Jo Becker, an advocate at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, as quoted in a press release.
HRW said, citing statistics provided by media and governments of various countries, that about 580,000 detainees, or 5 percent of the 11 million global prison population, had been authorized for release, but some of the release orders were not carried out properly.
In addition, the watchdog urged governments to refrain from carrying out new arrests and release those waiting for final verdicts, and currently placed at pretrial facilities. According to HRW, governments should make sure that those who remain in prisons are provided with all the necessities to maintain good health and a stable mental condition, and receive proper treatment if infected.
