US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI1271

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001271 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PGOV, DJ 
SUBJECT: VISIT TO GABODE PRISON 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) Summary: Pol/Econ, USLO NCO, and Pol Asst visited 
Djibouti's civil prison, Gabode, on September 23rd.  Followed 
by a tour of the facilities, Pol/Econ discussed the 
conditions with the Director of the Prison, Mohamed Ismail. 
The following is reaction to the conditions and a brief 
overview of the conversation with Ismail. End Summary. 
 
2. (C) The conditions at Gabode Prison were considerably 
better than Embassy staff expected to see based on the 
general impression from word on the street.  That said, one 
can imagine that conditions were spruced up a bit in the two 
weeks between the Embassy's formal request to the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and our actual visit.  The prison grounds are 
all dirt and were fairly clean compared to some of the 
streets throughout Djibouti City.  Buildings that inmates 
occupy have cement flooring, which was usually covered in 
dirt or mud.  All areas have ceiling fans to cool them, 
except the infirmary which has the only air conditioner in 
the prison, but it has been broken for several months. The 
kitchen facilities are primitive and do not seem adequate for 
feeding 300 to 500 persons.  Animals that are slaughtered in 
order to feed the prisoners wander freely around the prison 
compound.  Trash is burned in the open, as is customary for 
most residents of Djibouti.  Buildings are extremely 
dilapidated.  There are four new buildings constructed by the 
Government of Djibouti that house male inmates doing shorter 
sentences.  One of the four has a problem with its electrical 
wiring and therefore stands empty while the prison 
administrators wait for someone who can fix it. The main 
generator for the prison is broken, funds are not available 
in the prison budget to fix it. 
 
3. (C) The women's facility is completely separated from the 
minors' and men's sections.  During the visit there were 11 
women in the general area and one in criminal confinement. 
Ismail said that she had to be housed away from the other 
women or she would likely injure or kill them.  In the event 
of a woman having a child in prison, mother and child are 
kept together.  The conditions in the women's facility are 
described as luxurious compared to other prison facilities. 
The women have no beds and sleep on blankets piled on the 
cement floor.  There is a courtyard, a general sleeping 
quarters, a toilet and shower area immediately adjacent to 
the sleeping quarters and then the criminal confinement area, 
which has all of the above areas as well.  The toilet 
consists merely of two holes in the ground, where the 
sanitation piping is located and a bucket of clean water to 
wash with. 
 
4. (C) The infirmary appeared as dirty as other areas of the 
prison.  Upon entering the infirmary compound, we saw as many 
as eight sheep exit the infirmary compound when the door was 
unlocked.  There are beds in the infirmary, but the 
mattresses and bedding are extremely old and not clean.  The 
shower and toilet facilities are well separated from the 
sleeping quarters but are essentially the same as described 
in the women's area.  There were several people crowding 
around the courtyard and offices of the doctor.  We were told 
that there a doctor is always on duty, as well as one nurse. 
Medicine is provided by the Ministry of Health.  Donations 
from the Red Crescent were used in the past to supply the 
infirmary but that is no longer the case.  The one air 
conditioner in the prison is in the supply room of the 
infirmary.  It has been broken for several months.  Medicines 
are stored at room temperature - which in Djibouti is roughly 
the same as the outside air, ranging from 85 degrees 
Fahrenheit in the winter months to 130 degrees Fahrenheit in 
the summer months.  When asked if the supply of medicine was 
sufficient to treat the number of prisoners resident at 
Gabode in case of an emergency, the doctor said no, but 
conditioned that supplies were regularly replenished if they 
ran out. 
 
5. (C) The kitchen is roughly in the same state.  Food is 
brought in three times a day in order to prepare meals, 
according to Ismail.  The visit was around the time that the 
mid-day meal was being prepared. The meat was being butchered 
in unsanitary conditions.  The general food preparation area 
was as unhygenic as any other in the prison. Flies and 
insects swarmed the meat as it was being cut.  The prison 
employs one cook who is aided by the prisoners.  On a daily 
basis the prison prepares 70 kilograms of food per day.  The 
annual food budget is 13 million Djiboutian Francs (roughly 
730,000 USD).  Ismail said if the prisoner population remains 
at 350 the budget may stretch far enough when you factor out 
those that are being fed by their family.  He said frequently 
there is a deficit by September.  Many prisoners choose to 
have family bring them food, some even share with the other 
prisoners.  Ismail said that many of the families of patients 
in the infirmary fully supply the food for their kin.  He 
said the prison relies on a certain number to be fed by their 
family so that the rations provided by the prison can go far 
enough.  Ismail commented that there is much strain placed on 
the prison system by illegal foreigners.  He continued that 
there is the view in Djibouti that they are not Djiboutian, 
why should it be necessary to feed and house them and not 
send them home?  But, he said, it is not right according to 
human rights - we must take care of anyone that is arrested 
in Djibouti.  This places a great burden on the system. 
 
6. (C) The prison seems to be capped at a budgetary and 
physical capacity to care for 350 persons.  The annual budget 
does not adequately cover the expenses of the prison in terms 
of food, maintenance and administrative costs.  The physical 
capacity is limited by buildings that aren't usable, but the 
prisoners' residence quarters seem crowded despite that. 
Ismail said that the prison depends on the twice annual 
amnesties - at Independence Day and Ramadan - to reduce the 
prisoner population.  This year's independence day amnesty 
released 200 prisoners.  Ismail said those that are released 
usually get arrested again soon after.  The budget used to be 
25 million DF annually but was cut to 13 million DF recently. 
 The budget does not include salaries of the 16 person 
administrative staff, which is paid by the government, nor 
for any repairs or maintenance.  Currently, there are 144 
prisoners waiting for judgment out of the 350 total.  14 
persons are in on "criminal" charges, one of which is serving 
a life sentence.  According to Ismail, the law states that a 
Djiboutian must be tried within four months of arrest for 
minor infractions and foreigners within six months. 
Prisoners arrested on more severe criminal charges must be 
tried within two years of arrest.  Ismail said the longest 
anyone has stayed without judgment is eight years - he did 
not specify the crime. 
 
7. (C) The prison recently acquired two vehicles for daily 
transportation needs, though Ismail stressed that the prison 
needs its own ambulance.  He commented that when a prisoner 
got sick in the past it was necessary to call the hospital 
and wait until the ambulance could get to them, sometimes 
several hours later.  With the two vehicles it now has, 
prison officials can carry the prisoner to the hospital, but 
they must compete with the traffic like any other car. 
 
8. (C) Ismail pressed the notion that the most important 
improvement needed for the prison was a separate medical 
treatment facility at the entrance of the prison to screen 
prisoners prior to placement with the rest of the prison 
population.  He said that it is necessary to examine and 
diagnose prisoners for diseases like tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS 
and pneumonia to avoid wide spread contagion.  Ismail was 
extremely concerned that the priorities were not in the right 
place.  He commented "it is much better to have run down 
buildings with healthy people inside than brand new 
facilities with people spreading sickness." 
RAGSDALE