Released Zimbabwe inmates relate prison horror

From  www.Zimnetradio.com
By KING SHANGO
Published on: 8th September, 2009

ZIMBABWE – HARARE – The spotlight was on Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison on the outskirts of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, as 1500 prisoners were freed on a presidential amnesty decree.
The released prisoners said they were confined in overcrowded cells, measuring 9m by 4m. Typically speaking there are 25 men per cell.
Each day the men are confined to their squalid cells between the hours of 3:30pm and 7:00am. Four to five times a week they are also locked up for the guards lunch break, between the hours of 11:30am and 1:00pm.
zim NET radio was told there are no beds and so the prisoners have to sleep on mats spread out over the crowded cell floor.
Some inmates refused to wash, which resulted in blankets becoming lice infested. There is a predominance of HIV positive, practising homosexuals within this rat and lice infested prison.
The cells are shared with people in the terminal stages of AIDS, Tuberculosis, Herpes and other highly infectious diseases, as well as some prisoners who are mentally ill. This was apparent on prisoners freed Tuesday. Most of them were sick to the point of death.
Many of the infected prisoners were unable to control their bodily functions. They described scenes of prison floors and blankets being contaminated with body fluids; pus, phlegm, blood, urine, faeces.
Human rights groups said this was in contravention of Article 24 of the International Bill of Human Rights, which covers the state providing a safe environment.
The sanitary conditions they were forced to live under were a terrible threat to their well being.
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