CHRDI boss Abdul Fatorma who released the report yesterday
The Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI) has raised urgent concerns following a monitoring visit on 17 February 2026 to the Sierra Leone Correctional Services (SLCS) facilities in Freetown.
The organization reports severe human rights abuses, unsafe conditions, and a lack of basic dignity for inmates.
CHRDI documented prolonged detention without indictment, with 385 men and 36 women held beyond legal limits, many without legal representation.
Judicial delays were also noted, including 13 men on reserved judgments and 205 on prolonged adjourned trials from 2016 to 2025.
Overcrowding was extreme, with 1,802 male inmates crammed into a facility designed for 324, and cells housing up to 13 people. Female inmates included eight children aged 0–2.
Basic services such as clean water, sanitation, and food were critically inadequate, while medical care was severely limited.
CHRDI reported 97 HIV-positive men and 15 HIV-positive women, 26 TB-positive inmates, and inadequate hospital facilities. Mental health cases were also poorly managed.
Security infrastructure failures, including non-functional CCTV cameras and scanners, exposed both inmates and staff to dangerous conditions.
CHRDI is calling on the government and SLCS to fast-track indictments, improve security systems, provide adequate food, water, and medical care, and implement reforms to reduce overcrowding.
“No nation can claim progress if its correctional facilities remain centres of human degradation. Justice must be more than a legislative promise; it must be a functional reality for every Sierra Leonean,” said Abdul M. Fatoma, Chief Executive of CHRDI.
