Enforcement of due process is arbitrary and often nonexistent in cases involving security offenses. Trials reportedly do not meet international standards of due process. Authorities reportedly use force during interrogation, and Amnesty International did document several cases of prisoner abuse in 1998. Torture, however, is not systematic. Heavy leg-irons and shackles have been banned since 1997.
Prisons are overcrowded and sanitary conditions poor.
The government does not allow access to political prisoners. Security forces monitor personal communications and search homes and offices without warrants. The press is allowed a certain degree of freedom to criticize government officials and policies. Yet the government obstructs freedom of the press by occasionally detaining journalists without charge and requiring licensing fees. In 1998, at least six journalists for opposition papers were detained or imprisoned.