The Deputy Chief of Press and Public Affairs of the Special Court for Sierra Leone Mr. Peter Andersen has responded to the contents of a letter by the family and friends of war crimes indictee Samuel Hinga Norman (photo).
In an email sent to this publication, Andersen said under the Rules of Detention of the Court,its officers, including himself, cannot talk about the details of any detainee’s medical condition.
He however revealed that the Court has a well-equipped clinic in the detention facility staffed with a full time doctor and two nurses.
"We have an MOU(Memorandum of Understanding) with the nearby Choitrams hospital for procedures which cannot be done in the clinic", Andersen said.
He added that when a detainee has a special need, the court would take care of it. He gave the example of one of the detainees who, a year ago,had cataract surgery when an eye specialist visited the facility.
Andersen further explained that a detainee cannot go to get medical care in the country of his choice because without an agreement with the Special Court, the said detainee could request political asylum.
"Whatever the ultimate decision, it could take months or years before the matter were sorted out", Andersen said.
The Special Court Deputy Director said there are few countries in the region with Class One medical facilities.
"Ghana has indicated they are not interested in an agreement regarding Special Court indictees. Talks are underway with other countries", he said.
It would be recalled that we recently publshed a letter by the family and friends of Chief Hinga Norman in which they expressed serious concern over his health.
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