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On Thursday, April 17, 2025, the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Sierra Leone (CHRDI) conducted a monitoring visit to police stations in Lumley, Aberdeen, and Congo Cross in Freetown.
During the visit, the CHRDI team interacted with 34 male and two female detainees, uncovering several serious concerns regarding over-detention and violations of detainees’ rights.
Among the detainees, a second-year university student was found to have been held for over a day without any statement taken from him, a clear violation of his rights. Alarmingly, the crime officer at the station was unaware of his presence in the cell. In another instance, four male detainees were released, including one who had been held for over three days for allegedly stealing two bags of sand and another who had been detained for five days over the theft of a bag of rice.
Further investigations revealed that a former security worker, detained by a private security firm at his previous place of employment, had been held without a statement from the complainant, who is a lawyer. This delay in filing a statement has prolonged his detention. Additionally, some detainees have been in custody for over a month, without clear communication or updates about their cases.
A significant number of detainees lack legal representation, and many do not have someone to stand as surety during bail proceedings. These factors contribute to widespread over-detention, leaving many individuals uncertain about the future of their cases.
CHRDI’s findings highlight critical communication and coordination issues within Sierra Leone’s criminal justice system, which continue to exacerbate the problem of over-detention and violations of detainees’ rights. The organization calls for urgent reforms to ensure that individuals in custody are treated fairly and in accordance with the law.
