International Red Cross Visits 14.000 Prisoners In Algeria

Over 14940 Algerian prisoners in the penal institutions on the national territory were visited by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Representatives of the body confirmed that they met with prisoners in private, regardless of the cases in which they are followed.

Coordinator for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Algeria, Andrice Notter, said on Saturday, during the training workshop for journalists, about the armed conflict and international humanitarian law, in Algiers, that the Committee conducted last year 39 visits at the level of 32 penal institutions, and the number of prisoners who were visited reached 14940, as the Commission also visits places of custody of the police and the gendarmerie since 2002, as the International Committee and Algeria signed during the same year, an agreement that would allow the international Committee to inaugurate its mission in Algeria.

International Committee led 538 visits to 298 different places from 1999 to 2012, and visited about 53.000 prisoners, of whom 3658 prisoners were pursued individually, the ICRC visited in 2012, nearly 190.000 people who were deprived of their freedom in 31 places of detention, which are punitive institutions under the responsibility of the Justice Ministry, and temporary detentions of police and gendarmerie.

“Commission is in regular contact with the Directorate General for the management of prisons and reintegration, and the Directorate of Criminal Affairs and pardon, in order to send observations that aimed at improving the detentions’ environment and improve the treatment of persons who are deprived of freedom.”

“Meetings with the prisoners of penal institutions are conducted in private, away from the eyes of the guards or officials in the penal institutions, and the commission has the right to check out the records, and provide advice and guidance to the public authorities in this aspect, and in many cases the same punitive institution is visited again to monitor the extent of the authorities’ commitment to its obligations earlier.”