The Zimbabwean Pundit links to an interview by SW Radio with Roy Bennett who just came out of prison in Zimbabwe. Bennett is asked by the interviewer about prison conditions and this is his reply:
I've seen many films about prisoners and prisons, I've read books on prisons. Let me tell you, Zimbabwe prisons today [have] got to be amongst the worst prison systems in the world. It is absolutely terrible. There has been no... maintenance done to any of the ablutions. All the beds that were in the cells have been removed. The sewerage is absolutely terrible. Because the government is going through an economic crisis they are unable to sustain their own prison regulations. You no longer get supplied with basic commodities like toothpaste or toothbrush. The food is absolutely disgusting, and there's very, very little, so you're basically living in hunger the whole time; and as of yesterday they started introducing a one meal a day... you get a cup of porridge in the morning and then one meal of sadza a day - the midday meal you didn't get. So, you know, absolutely horrific...See also here:You know, even more horrific are the conditions in which the prisoners are held. They are constantly beaten, they are constantly dehumanized, they are strip-searched, have their clothing taken off them, are forced to do star jumps; when the gangs come in from work [they] are beaten, are forced to squat on their haunches the whole time. And basically it's a whole [process] of taking away someone's dignity. So the prisoners, the whole time, are made to feel that they are absolutely nothing: they're shouted at... they're called the most horrific names, and never ever once are they treated in a decent manner, they're treated like animals the whole time; so it's very, very, very degrading and very, very horrible.
The cell conditions are absolutely horrific: mostly overcrowded, unless the prisons are not, you know, there's a bit of a break... But most of time they're fully overcrowded; [cells] that should hold eight people and are filled with 20 people. The beds have all been removed so you can squeeze more people in, lying on the floor. You get four blankets: you've got, basically, one blanket to lie on... two blankets to cover yourself and one blanket to use as a pillow. So you're constantly cold; we weren't allowed jerseys... so you're basically wearing a canvas shirt and a canvas pants with absolutely no underwear, so you are fully freezing the whole time.
The conditions I witnessed in prison were how I imagine hell... To witness fellow prisoners being beaten on a daily basis, to hear their screams, see them stripped of their dignity is unimaginable.
