Promoting Justice, Protecting Rights, Transforming Lives
Prison Watch Sierra Leone (PWSL) is an indigenous human rights organization dedicated to defending the rights of people deprived of their liberty. Established in 1996 by passionate young graduates, PWSL is committed to combating torture, inhumane treatment, and other human rights abuses in detention facilities across Sierra Leone. Our efforts focus on penal reforms and advocating for the dignity and humane treatment of incarcerated individuals.
Our key work is to monitor places of detention (correctional centers, police cells, juvenile homes, and local court detention facilities) across the country. We monitor, investigate, document and report incidents of human rights violations. We are engaged in collecting data on all persons passing through the detention centers. We maintain office presence in Freetown and the regional headquarter city of Bo, Southern region. We also work through staff representatives (Monitors) across the country where there exist functional correctional centers.
We source our dedication from the core belief that the respect for human rights in prisons set the baseline for the rule of law in society. And because we are determined to break the cycles of violence and deprivation that are created when persons in conflict with the law are subjected to inhuman treatment.
