From: amnesty@amnesty.oil.ca
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 02:41:21 -0400
Message-Id: <200009080641.CAA17646@amnesty.oil.ca>
To: amnesty-L@oil.ca
Subject: KENYA: The killing of six unarmed prisoners should be thoroughly investigated
Sender: owner-amnesty-l@oil.ca
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: owner-amnesty-l@host.oil.ca

* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
7 September 2000
AI Index AFR 32/008/2000
News Service Nr. 172

Kenya

The killing of six unarmed prisoners should be thoroughly investigated

"The killing of six unarmed, naked prisoners in Kenya by prison warders
appears yet again to show the authorities' lack of respect for the human
rights of Kenyans" said Amnesty International today.

The six were part of a group of eight prisoners on death row who
attempted to escape from King'ong'o Prison in Nyeri, 150 kilometres from
Nairobi, in the early hours of Monday 4 September 2000. Residents from
the neighbouring estate reported being woken at 2am by gunfire which
lasted almost 40 minutes.

The prisoners allegedly were shot indiscriminately by scores of armed
warders, when attempting to scale a wall using their uniforms and
blankets to make a rope.

The prison authorities in Kenya have announced an investigation into the
incident in conjunction with the continuing police inquiry.

Amnesty International said. "Without a thorough and independent
investigation - including an effective post mortem - there is a concern
that the events leading up to the killings will never be established and
the excessive use of force by security officers in Kenya will yet again
go unchallenged."

The organization has repeatedly and publicly condemned the excessive use
of force by police in Kenya, including during demonstrations and arrests
of criminal suspects. In a number of incidents the use of excessive
force has amounted to targeted extrajudicial executions.

Background
The eight men had been sentenced to death for robbery with violence at
different Magistrate's Courts between January and August 2000, after
unfair trials where defendants do not have the right to legal aid.

Although no one has been executed for more than 10 years in Kenya, there
are currently more than 1,000 people on death row, a number of whom have
been under sentence of death for many years.

No local or international human rights organizations have been allowed
access to Kenyan prisons. Unhampered access was one of the
recommendations in the recent report of the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on torture, who raised serious concerns about the widespread
use of torture in Kenya by security officers. Conditions in prisons in
Kenya are appalling, with severe overcrowding, lack of adequate
clothing, food and medication, which has resulted in their being termed
"death chambers" by a leading member of the judiciary. ..
ENDS.../
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
****************************************************************
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main
text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting
Amnesty International and this footer remain intact. Only the
list subscription message may be removed.
****************************************************************
To subscribe to amnesty-L, send a message to <majordomo@oil.ca>
with "subscribe amnesty-L" in the message body. To unsubscribe,
send a message to <majordomo@oil.ca> with "unsubscribe amnesty-L"
in the message body. If you have problem signing off, contact
<owner-amnesty-L@oil.ca>. <owner-amnesty-L@oil.ca> handles
only messages concerning list administration. Past and current Amnesty
news services can be found at <http://www.amnesty.org/news/>.
Visit <http://www.amnesty.org> for information about Amnesty International
and for other AI publications. Contact amnestyis@amnesty.org if you
need to get in touch with the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International.