Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Visitors to Cambodia prisons hit up for bribes: report+

Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Macro World Investor

PHNOM PENH, March 11-(Kyodo), Visitors to prisons in Cambodia are required to pay bribes to prison guards to gain access to inmates, a Cambodian human rights organization said in a report released Tuesday.

The report by LICADHO said, "In order for families to visit a family member in prison, they are usually required to pay a bribe to the prison guards."

It said that the bribe can range from 2,000 riel (about $0.50) to hundreds of dollars depending on the particular prison guard and the perception of wealth of the family.

"Families and visitors are regularly denied access to their loved ones if they are unable to pay these bribes," the report said.

Often, even if the bribe has been paid, the visit will be heavily monitored by prison guards to make the prisoners fearful of telling their families about the true conditions in the prison, it added.

LICADHO, established in 1992, is a nongovernmental human rights organization, and its prison researchers make four visits each month to 18 out of 26 prisons throughout Cambodia.

The report, titled "Prison Conditions in Cambodia: 2007," said prison officials regularly take most, if not all, gifts of food, personal hygiene products and supplies for their own use. Families are often unaware of this practice and continue to give gifts.

Repeated attempts to reach prison officials for comment on the report were unsuccessful.

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