Destitute Bangui detainees receive free legal assistance

Some five hundred destitute detainees held beyond the lawful detention period in Bangui are being offered free legal assistance from 10 lawyers from Central African Republic.

Financially backed by the UN, the initiative is being launched in partnership with the ministry of Justice, and aims to protect the fundamental rights of defendants and suspects.

Fabien Johnny Yerima, an attorney from Central African Republic Bar Association, says, ''if there are detainees here who have exceeded the legal detention period, we will take it upon ourselves to write to the competent judicial authorities to request that these deadlines be respected, or at least that these individuals be released, because they are being detained beyond the legal period ofFree preventive detention.''

Since the project was launched in July, around 150 detainees have been given an initial legal consultation. These meetings enable lawyers to identify irregularities and, if necessary, refer cases to the relevant courts.