Participants at the end of a two-day forum on legal empowerment and access to justice have sent a formal letter to the Supreme Court calling for an increment of the number of defense lawyers from two to nine in Bong and Montserrado counties.
The participants, including magistrates, officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP), correction officers, human rights organizations, county attorneys and public defenders also reminded the Supreme Court of its mandate to judges and magistrates to make use of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism to help reduce the over-crowdedness of pre-trial detainees in Liberia.
The call by the participants was contained in a letter written by Country Director of the Prison Fellowship Liberia, Reverend Francis Kollie, addressed to His Honor, Francis Korkpor, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The forum, organized by the Prison Fellowship Liberia with funding from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, claimed that one of the problems facing the Judiciary system is the prolonged pre-trial detention and prison over-crowdedness.
According to the participants, another challenge of the judicial system is the limited number of lawyers, including state prosecutors and public defenders, in most of the counties with a high rate of pre-trial detainees
The letter added that the groups followed massive consultations with actors in the justice system and discussions aimed at advocating and empowering community members and leaders on access to justice and the rule of law.
The participants emphasized the need to address the prolonged pre-trial detainees and prison over-crowdedness because it constitutes a violation of human rights and creates a burden for the government in terms of providing feeding and health for inmates.
The resolution, among other things, mandated the participants to work with local law enforcement agencies, the Liberia National Police (LNP), correction officers, magistrates and lawyers to understand, cooperate and support the enhancement of access to justice in the country.
The resolution also called on members of the National Legislature, the Executive and Judiciary of the government to increase the capacity of the Bong and Montserrado counties public defense counsels to nine lawyers.
The resolution encouraged the government to allay the serious logistic constraints faced by the Liberia National Police (LNP), the Bureau of Correction and Rehabilitation and courts as a matter of urgency in order to mitigate the overcrowding of prisons in Bong and Montserrado counties.
Copies of the letter addressed to the Chief Justice were sent to the Representative Kanie Wesso, Chairman of the House’s Judiciary Committee; Representative Thomas Fallah, Chairman of the House’s Committee Ways, Means and Finance; and Representative Gunpue Kargon, Chairman of the House’s Committee on Claims and Petitions.
Others to whom the letter was copied are Senator Varney Sherman, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Claims; and Senator Morris Saytumah, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways, Means and Finance.
Other personalities whom the copies of the letter were sent to were Counselor Taiwon Gongloe, President of the Liberia National Bar Association; Stephen Rodriques, the Resident of the United Nations Development Program; Uchenna Emelonye, Country Representative of the Office of the High Commission on Human Rights; Marie Gareth Nizigama, Country Representative of the United Nations Women; and Joe Pemagbi, Manager of the Open Society In West Africa.