Africa-Press – Seychelles. Following recent comments by lawyers of suspects in the missing US $50 million case that ‘Montagne Posée is a prison and not a remand facility’ and the erroneous belief that people on remand and those already convicted are put together in the prison facilities at Montagne Posée, Raymond St Ange, the Commissioner of Prisons, has rejected the comments as false and has clarified.
Mr St Ange explains that the female remand unit is physically separated from the female convicts’ section at the Montagne Posée prison with a total number of eight cells with two remandees per cell.
That means 16 females can be held on remand at one time.
Additionally, there is a common area, toilet and shower facilities as well as laundry.
Remandees are permitted on a schedule to access the unit yard, the female section library, and the exercise yard.
They can also access facilities to prepare their own meals if they so choose or the meal per menu for the female unit via the female unit support kitchen.
A separate dry cell exists to manage and observe newly arrived remandees or convicts for Covid-19.
Faith-based organisations that are working with the prison authority as part of the rehabilitation programme for inmates also have access to the facilities to support the faith-based needs of the remandees.
Meanwhile the male remandees are first processed to the Montagne Posée facility to be observed for Covid-19 and are kept in separate holding areas within the prison which are called Care & Transition Units or CTU.
The prison currently operates two such units with a total capacity to manage 20 male remandees. This is in a dormitory setting.
Individual holding cells are also available depending on arrivals or departures to cater for those who are aggressive or other security and safety risk.
Once they have been observed for the required amount of time they are then moved to the Bois de Rose detention remand facility.
The facility at Bois de Rose while having 80 beds will manage only 40 inmates maximum at this time.
“We have set this operational limit for safety and security reasons,” explains Mr St Ange.
The prison service additionally provides weekly medical checks or if needed as required.
The male remandees also have access to an exercise yard as well as television.
Remandees can have weekly visits and can access the prison tuck shop on programmed days.
Visits with lawyers which are supervised, are permitted when requested.
Other considerations or requests are made via the courts.
For More News And Analysis About Seychelles Follow Africa-Press
