Methodology
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The study started out with a research meeting in Accra together with teams from Ghana and Guinea Conakry carrying out similar research. The questionnaires were reviewed and refined, potential challenges discussed, and preliminary plans for future advocacy considered. The research teams then further revised the questionnaires in country following a test with a sample of detainees.
Detainee interviews
The findings are based on the responses from 128 respondents, held in pretrial detention. Children were not included in the sample, however it emerged that children were being held together with adults as a number of detainees between the age of 15 and 17 formed part of the random selection. 53 interviews were carried out in Freetown Central Prison (including the women’s prison) in Freetown (Western area), 35 interviews in Kono Prison in Sefadu-Koidu (Kono district, Eastern province) and 40 interviews in Makeni Prison (Bombali district, Northern province). In addition, interviews were carried out with 12
The prisons were purposely selected to include one in Freetown and two in the provinces. A structured questionnaire was administered to a random selection of detainees selected from a list of all pretrial detainees in the three prisons. Detainee interviews were carried out at the prisons, either in the courtyard or in empty offices of the prisons. The research assistants explained the purpose of the interview and sought permission from the interviewee before proceeding with the interview. (See annex 1 for the questionnaire and consent form.)
family members; four of these family members were related to detainees in Freetown, four to detainees in Kono and four to detainees in Makeni. The findings are therefore from the perspective of the detainees and their family members.