(Kampala) – The Tanzanian government should allow all inmates access to legal counsel to ensure their rights are respected amid the Covid-19 crisis, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 19, 2020, 20 human rights organizations including the Legal and Human Rights Center in Dar es Salaam, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Tanzanian President John Magufuli, urging the authorities to ensure that all detainees and prisoners have access to lawyers and to take steps to decongest prisons.
On March 19, prison authorities banned all visits to the country’s prisons indefinitely to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The ban includes prisoners’ lawyers, which has denied the prisoners access to legal counsel and slowed down plea bargaining and resolution of cases, lawyers told Human Rights Watch.
“Banning all visitors to prisons has meant that detainees can’t speak to their lawyers, depriving them of the right to a fair trial,” said Oryem Nyeko, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch
. “The government has taken important steps to slow the spread of Covid-19, but this shouldn’t come at the expense of basic rights.”
Tanzania currently has 509 reported cases of Covid-19 infections, and the government has encouraged social distancing and the wearing of masks. However, there have been no restrictions on movement and court proceedings continue to take place. Defendants are not allowed to physically attend court sessions except through video links in prisons where these facilities are available.
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