VZCZCXRO1311
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHPL #0169/01 1560827
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 050827Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT LOUIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4582
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHAN/AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO 0824
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 3046
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 2534
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT LOUIS 000169 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/E FOR MARIA BEYZEROV 
AF/RSO FOR JUN BANDO AND MIKE BITTRICK 
S/P FOR PETER HARELL 
L FOR BUCHHOLS AND BINIAZ 
ANTAN FOR DAO 
NAIROBI FOR KUSLO 
PRETORIA FOR LEGATT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2009 
TAGS: PHUM MARR PREL MASS MOPPS KCRM SE
SUBJECT: SEYCHELLES PRISON SYSTEM: BAD ENOUGH WITHOUT 
ADDING PIRATES 
 
REF: A. PORT LOUIS 38 
     ¶B. PORT LOUIS 137 
     ¶C. PORT LOUIS 143 
     ¶D. PORT LOUIS 146 
     ¶E. PORT LOUIS 144 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Virginia Blaser for reasons 1.4 (b and 
 d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  Incidents of piracy have threatened the 
economic livelihood of the Seychelles, yet the small and 
troubled island nation lacks the infrastructure to house a 
potential influx of pirates, and is barely capable of 
detaining the alleged pirates in custody now.  A recent 
preliminary report by the independent, newly-formed 
Seychelles National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) adds a new 
dimension to the negative picture of the Seychelles' prison 
system and its violations of human rights.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) This message continues a series on Seychelles' 
responses to piracy (reftels).  Piracy incidents in 
Seychelles' Exclusive Economic Zone have threatened tourism 
and fisheries, the twin pillars of its prosperity (ref B). 
However, the Seychelles' fragile democracy, debt-wracked 
economy, and uncertain legal system make trials and detention 
of pirates there problematic at best (ref C and previous). 
In this message, the status of Seychelles' overcrowded and 
troubled prison system throws additional light on the 
question of a Seychellois response to piracy. 
 
------------- 
Prison Update 
------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The Montagne Posee Prison (MPP), now the only prison 
facility on Seychelles, can hold a maximum of 400 inmates. 
It was built to replace the Long Island prison, and received 
its first inmates in September 2006.  Until the completion of 
the women's wing in February 2009, part of the male prison 
was sectioned off to accommodate the female prisoners. 
According to a recent report by an independent commission, as 
of March 11 the MPP's population stood at 317, consisting of 
194 convicted men, 12 convicted women, 106 men on remand, 
three women on remand, one "civil imprisonment" and one 
sentenced at "the President's pleasure."  According to press 
reports, the alleged pirates in custody are separated, based 
on how they were captured, in three groups at three different 
police detention centers away from the MPP.  According to AG 
Govinden, this separation from Seychellois is for their own 
safety. 
 
----------------------------- 
Options For Detaining Pirates 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In May 5 and 6 meetings (see reftels) with contacts 
such as the President and his Principal Secretary, the 
Attorney General, the Director of the Financial Intelligence 
Unit (FIU), and the Leader of the Opposition, Charge 
D'Affaires was told by all counterparts that Seychelles lacks 
the capacity to detain any new influx of pirates and barely 
has the capacity to detain the suspect pirates in custody 
now.  In a May 5 meeting with CDA Blaser, Principal Secretary 
(PS) Jean Paul Adam, Office of the President, was the first 
to raise the issue of the courts' immense backlog and how new 
piracy cases would force them to create new options due to 
their lack of capacity.  The backlog issue was similarly 
raised by the Attorney General and the Opposition Leader in 
subsequent meetings with CDA. 
 
¶5.  (C) Attorney General (AG) Ronny Govinden offered the 
following three options: renovating and reopening the closed 
High Security Prison and other detention facilities, 
releasing remand prisoners charged with lesser crimes to 
accommodate incoming pirates, or, "building an outer island 
prison a la Guantanamo."  Govinden's options represent the 
full spectrum of options raised by Post contacts in separate 
 
PORT LOUIS 00000169  002 OF 003 
 
 
meetings.  For example, in separate May 5 meetings with CDA, 
FIU Director Declan Barber and Opposition Leader Wavel 
Ramkalawan also mentioned that since Seychelles does not 
currently have sufficient prison space it would have to begin 
releasing remand prisoners if an influx of pirates were to be 
detained. 
 
¶6. (C)  As for the first option of renovating and reopening 
old facilities, Post contacts were not shy about needing 
assistance from development partners in almost every phase of 
renovation given the current economic status of Seychelles. 
"If we are expected to cooperate, it comes with a price tag 
because we do not have money," AG Govinden stressed.  That 
said, however, the overcrowding of MPP and lack of separation 
between remandees and prisoners was an issue before the 
piracy problem.  The local press reported that the Department 
of Internal Affairs plans to begin building separate 
buildings at MPP to house juvenile and remand prisoners 
within a year.  Meanwhile, the opposition party weekly 
"Regar" reported in late April that renovations have been 
underway at the former Grand Police High Security prison for 
some time, although authorities deny that it will be used 
again to house prisoners. 
 
¶7. (C) Post contacts shared negative views on the option of 
releasing remand prisoners charged with lesser crimes in 
order to increase capacity to detain pirates, suggesting it 
should be employed only as a last resort.  There is a 
palpable public fear in Seychelles over a recent rash of 
prison escapes, and Seychellois in general do not want the 
accused released (ref A). As for the creation of an outer 
island prison, AG Govinden suggested to CDA that this is 
actually an option being considered by a newly-formed high 
commission on piracy, but did recognize that it would be a 
costly option in tough economic times. 
 
----------------------- 
The Human Rights Factor 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. (C)  Post has previously noted the poor conditions and 
reported human rights violations at the MPP (ref A).  After 
recent violent incidents occurred in the prison on March 6, 
11, and 15, the GOS commissioned an independent human rights 
investigation team from the NHRC to inspect the prisons.  On 
March 23, the NHRC presented a draft report to opposition 
leader Wavel Ramkalawan and President James Michel that 
echoed Post reporting on human rights violations and subpar 
prison conditions.  Ramkalawan gave a copy of this draft 
report to EMBOFFS in a May 6 meeting.  While the report is 
purposefully structured to capture what occurred in the 
aforementioned violent incidents, it acknowledges that the 
underlying issues contributing to prison unrest will need 
in-depth study and long-term solutions.  The general overview 
section captures the story of MPP in a sentence: "It was 
supposed to be a modern prison but from the beginning of its 
operation it fell well short of expectation." 
 
¶9. (C)  The NHRC report concluded in no uncertain terms that 
"the human rights of the inmates were violated and their 
safety and security were seriously compromised by the action 
of the prison authorities," based on recounts of prisoner 
beatings, use of attack dogs, and observations of inhumane 
prison conditions strikingly similar to those reported 
earlier by Post. NHRC similarly noted a breakdown in prison 
authority, due to the MPP superintendent's lack of prison 
management experience, that may have led to the violence. 
(NOTE:  Prison Superintendent Gelage Hoareau, a former army 
officer, was eventually sacked in May 2009. END NOTE.)  In 
addition to the disciplinary problems and excessive use of 
force, the NHRC noted that the prison regularly ran out of 
basic necessities, which added tension to an already volatile 
atmosphere and may have sparked the March 11 violent 
incident. 
 
¶10. (C) The NHRC report gives 13 recommendations going 
forward, and all seemed to underscore the lack of prison 
 
PORT LOUIS 00000169  003 OF 003 
 
 
capacity and ways to confront this reality.  Standout 
recommendations include: 
 
--other institutions should collaborate in order to reduce 
the number of remand prisoners in MPP.  (NOTE: 34 percent of 
the prison population are remand prisoners. The backlog of 
the judiciary system is regularly blamed for prison 
overcrowding and prolonged remand prisoner detention. END 
NOTE.) 
 
--remand prisoners should be kept separate from convicted 
ones and juveniles kept separate from adults. (NOTE: On May 
27, The Seychelles Nation reported that this recommendation 
has already been implemented. END NOTE.) 
 
--basic necessities such as soap, water, and appropriate 
utensils should be made available for inmates at all times. 
(NOTE: Prisoners signed a petition dated February 8 reporting 
water shortages and lack of basic commodities being very 
common.  END NOTE.) 
 
-- humane sanitation facilities should be put in place. 
 
-- additional staff should be recruited and appropriately 
trained, and authority should be clearly demarcated among the 
various law enforcement entities present within the prison 
premises so as to not undermine the Prison Superintendent's 
authority. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶11. (C) Thus far, the GOS has kept the promise of the 
President and others that Seychelles would protect the human 
rights of the accused pirates in custody.  The GOS has 
protected them from public vitriol, properly fed them, and 
seeks to provide them with due process and a fair trial. 
Given Seychelles' lack of prison capacity and the NHRC 
conclusion on recent prison human rights violations, the 
promise may be difficult to keep going forward, and would 
likely be strained to the breaking point by the addition of 
even moderate numbers of piracy suspects or convicts. 
BLASER