Seychelles
Archipelago consisting of 115 islands, most of which uninhabited. 98% of the population (of 96,720 by March 2018) live on the so-called inland islands, a group of 42 islands comprising about half of the country's land area. When the British gained control of the islands during the Napoleonic Wars, they allowed the French upper class to retain their land. Both the French and British settlers used enslaved Africans, and although the British prohibited slavery in 1835, African workers continued to come. Thus the Gran blan ("big whites") of French origin dominated economic and political life. The country’s economic boom since it recovered from the 2008 foreign currency crisis has sharpened social differences and income inequality. The country also began to play a role in international drug traffic as a bridge between Afghanistan and East Africa. By 2016, Seychelles had at least 1,000 heroin users, and 2.3% of the 90,000 population were intravenous drug users, that was among the worst rates in the world.
For some years (ca. 2011-2015) the Seychelles had the world's highest incarceration rate ranging between 799 and 868 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, relegating the USA to second place. According to the research officer at Montagne Posee, Sam Dodin, 70% of the inmates at Montagne Posee owed their incarcderation to drug related offences.
An American-style drug policy with high minimum sentences made things no better. In late 2016, a new law tightened the already stiff sentences: now, the minimum sentence for aggravated manufacture, importation or trafficking in a class A drug like heroin was up to 20 years and the maximum to life. The minimum for aggravated cultivation of a class B drug like cannabis was set at eight and the maximum at 20 years. Traffickers can be prosecuted for any quantity of drugs, including fake ones, even when those have been manipulated to keep them below the statutory threshold.
Temporarily, the simultaneous release of 150 drug related prisoners in late 2016 - as the new law came into effect - provisionally lowered the imprisonment rate and resulted in 448 per 100,000 by March 2018, putting the USA back in the leading position.
- 2016 - American sisters found dead in $1,800-a-night Seychelles villa had fluid on their lungs often linked to drug overdoses, authorities say - as locals tell of 'cocaine ... The sisters pictured in a September 19 photo while on vacation in Seychelles. .... ' It is a big problem here and lots of tourists taken the drug.
- "Prison conditions and overcrowding in Montagne Posee Prison, the main prison, significantly improved during the year. On June 1, implementation of the Misuse of Drugs Act decriminalized possession of small amounts of cannabis. Consequently, authorities released approximately 160 prisoners because their convictions were overturned. No remand detainees, however, were released based on this change. ..On March 21, the newspaper Seychelles Nation reported the death of Montagne Posee Prison inmate Robert Banane. Prison officials initially stated that Banane died of a fall but later stated that he was shot. Sixty fellow inmates signed a letter sent to weekly newspaper Le Seychellois Hebdo stating Banane died while fighting for the right of inmates to be treated humanely.-...An ombudsman may make recommendations to the National Assembly and the president to improve conditions for prisoners and detainees but had no authority to enforce such recommendations. Although the ombudsman is required to issue an annual report on inmate complaints and on investigations into human rights abuses and corruption, she did not do so for at least three years." (U.S. Human Rights Report 2016).
Weblinks
- US Dept of State: Prison conditions were harsh due to overcrowding. Prisoners at Montagne Posee Prison alleged that a fellow inmate’s death resulted from physical abuse. - Physical Conditions: