December 10, 2012     From Africa blogger "Bakhita"      Previous article

Reflection for Human Rights Day

As we observe Human rights day on the December 10, I cannot help but wonder if prisoners/ inmates have human rights, and if they do, are these rights respected, are these rights absolute?

Being incarcerated in Hong Kong is not half as bad as being incarcerated in some of the prisons in Africa. Hong Kong prisons have large numbers of Africans who have been convicted of various offences. Some of these inmates are serving very long sentences and one is tempted to ask that they are transferred back to their own countries so as to continue and complete their sentences in their countries as their families will be able to visit them without incurring the heavy cost of having to travel all the way abroad.

A few inmates have toyed with the idea but the response is always the same: it is better to languish in the cells in Hong Kong as the treatment and facilities are much better than those back in their countries. These inmates have attested to the fact that prisons in Hong Kong respect their human rights.

Yet even though the facilities and treatment are better than in their respective countries, I think the government of Hong Kong should review the long sentences that these inmates have to serve, their reform and rehabilitative status and records and generally, the huge costs that are incurred by the government of Hong Kong in keeping these inmates locked up for many years.

Also, do prisoners have the right to access the parole process?  And does the process have to be so lengthy and excessively bureaucratic as to negate the right to parole?