African prisoners deported
Fifty four prisoners from Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana who were languishing in jail even after serving their sentences have been finally deported.Their wives had protested such a move.
Male and female prisoners from African countries who were detained in prisons in Trinidad and Tobago after serving their sentences, have been sent home. They were deported on Wednesday night. Some 54 male Africans were detained at Maximum Security Prison. Several females were at the Women’s Prison in Arouca. The Africans were from Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria and were held for various offences. Many had finished their sentences but continued to be detained in jail. Some African prisoners waited for more than two years to be deported to their homeland. “We have finished our sentences and were just sitting in a cell not doing anything,” an African prisoner said. Some 90 per cent of the African prisoners were jailed for illegal entry into Trinidad. The African prisoners at MSP had protested on several occasions and asked to be returned to their families, who they were concerned about. The prisoners, before they left the jail, said they were happy to be finally returning home.However, according to newspaper reprots, the wives of some of the prisoners had protested plans for deportation.