Samuda say no hunger strike at St Catherine prison

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Matthew Samuda, says claims that some prisoners at the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre are on a hunger strike over mistreatment are false.

Human rights non-profit Stand Up For Jamaica today issued a statement where it expressed concerns about the situation at the prison.

It indicated that its attorney visited the penal institution yesterday and again today and collected several reports which spoke about severe beatings.

It further claimed that officers used batons to evict inmates from their cells and also damaged personal belongings.

However, in a statement this afternoon, Samuda dismissed claims that prisoners are refusing to eat as a means of protest and that there has been prison fracas.

In Photo: Matthew Samuda

He labelled the claims as “rumours and unfortunate mischief-making.”

“I have instructed Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services, Dr Marc Thomas, to invite representatives of INDECOM (Independent Commission of Investigations) and the Office of the Public Defender to visit the institution undertake independent investigations and inform the public of their findings urgently.”

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