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The Democratic Alliance notes with great concern, reports of what appear to be large-scale human rights abuses at the Grootvlei Prison, which have resulted in over 1000 awaiting trial inmates embarking on a strike.

Particularly concerning are allegations of:

• Torture and assault to elicit confessions;
• Racism;
• Bribery and corruption;
• Unhygienic living conditions;
• Denying access to family and legal representation;
• Using false statements to oppose bail applications.

There has reportedly been a meeting between the prisoners and officials of the DCS, Provincial Chief Magistrate, Police and the NPA.

We shall be posing parliamentary questions to the relevant departments to ascertain the outcome of the meeting and what steps they are proposing to take to address the concerns.

If the answers are not satisfactory we shall refer the matter to the Human Rights Commission for a full investigation.