Despite consultations on three afternoons per week, these organisations are apparently not able to fulfil the needs for individual assistance and legal advice. The person conducting this service on behalf of the Association for Democracy in Africa on the day of the visit had to advise about 20 inmates in a small room at the same time. Two juveniles, who had already been detained for three days at the prison jail in Rossauer L nde, had had no contacts thus far with such a consulting organisation. Immediate access to a lawyer is apparently not guaranteed in many cases for merely practical and financial reasons. The communication problem also obstructs proper medical assistance.
Medical assistance is offered every morning.
If an inmate wishes to consult the doctor, he has to notify the officials at 6 am. Later requests are only acted upon the following day. Some prisoners criticised this practice because it makes immediate reaction for acute cases impossible. The delegation talked with three prisoners who had been on hunger strike for eight, ten and eleven days, respectively, and who had been released by the responsible doctor because of their bad physical condition, which made them unfit for further detention. The persons were evidently in very bad physical shape.