Letter to High Com of SA
Your Excellency
You will kindly recall the conversation we had in your office on Wednesday 1 July regarding the possibility of transferring South African nationals, presently numbering 29, and who are spending time in Mauritius prisons for various offenses, mostly for drug dealing. Amnesty International (Mauritius Section) – AIMS- wishes to make a formal request to your Government through your esteemed person, to initiate discussions with the Mauritius authorities for the establishment of a legal framework whereby any condemned person would spend his/her term of imprisonment in his/her country. AIMS is in a position to state that the Mauritius Attorney General is not opposed to any such discussion and to the establishment of an extradition protocol between our two countries.
Amnesty International believes strongly that anyone who contravenes the laws of a country - provided they are not iniquitous- must be accountable and punished. However, we also believe that certain conditions pertaining to human rights and dignity should necessarily be observed. As things stand presently, most of the prisoners do not – or rather, for economic reasons, cannot – have the visit of their relatives. Conditions of imprisonment, in terms of loneliness, food and communication also leave a lot to be desired. The psychological stress is without a doubt, unbearable.