FOREIGN DETAINEES AT MELROSE PRISON ISSUE URGENT HUMAN RIGHTS APPEAL

Foreign Prisoners Network has received a series of handwritten letters from foreign detainees currently held at Melrose Prison in Mauritius, describing what they say is a rapidly deteriorating situation inside the institution.

The prisoners are appealing directly for international attention and human rights intervention.

Among the most immediate complaints is an alleged decision to reduce the amount prisoners can earn from prison work from approximately Rs 550 per month to just Rs 125 per month. According to the detainees, this income is not merely discretionary spending. They say it is essential for obtaining permitted items from the prison canteen and, critically, for maintaining telephone contact with their families and lawyers.

For foreign prisoners whose relatives may live thousands of kilometres away and who cannot regularly receive visits, telephone contact may represent their principal connection to children, spouses, parents and other relatives.

The prisoners describe the consequences of the measure in stark terms: having to choose between basic personal needs and maintaining contact with their families.

Foreign Prisoners Network therefore calls upon the Mauritius Prison Service to immediately clarify whether this reduction has been introduced, on what legal and administrative basis it was decided, to whom it applies and how its consequences for prisoners have been assessed. Allegations of discrimination and degrading treatment The correspondence raises considerably wider concerns.

Foreign detainees allege discriminatory treatment within the prison system, including distinctions allegedly being made according to nationality, ethnicity, race and physical appearance. They describe a culture in which certain foreign prisoners believe they are regarded and treated as inferior especially by the head of Melrose Prison Mr. Ancharaz who is leading the prison in a way which is in contradiction with every Human Rights Treaty.

These are serious allegations. They should neither be dismissed nor accepted without investigation. They must be independently investigated.

The United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules require prisoners to be treated with respect for their inherent dignity and prohibit discrimination. They also recognise regular communication with family and friends as an important element of detention and require an equitable system of remuneration for prisoner labour.

Foreign Prisoners Network considers that deliberately or disproportionately placing family communication beyond the practical financial reach of prisoners would raise serious human-rights concerns, particularly for foreign nationals who have no meaningful alternative means of maintaining family relationships.

“We feel forgotten” The letters reveal something that statistics and official reports rarely show: the profound feeling of isolation among foreign detainees. One prisoner describes the outside recipient of the correspondence as one of the prisoners’ few remaining friends and asks that their situation continue to be brought to public attention. Others specifically request contact with human-rights organisations inside and outside Mauritius.

The message running through the correspondence is unmistakable: they believe nobody is listening. Foreign Prisoners Network is listening. And we are asking the international community to listen as well. Serious questions surrounding confidence in the drug-enforcement system The prisoners also repeatedly refer to the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU) and express deep distrust of parts of the Mauritian drug-enforcement system. Their concerns cannot simply be dismissed as rhetoric from prisoners.

Mauritius has recently seen a number of disturbing criminal investigations involving police personnel. In March 2026, Mauritian media reported the arrest of a police inspector who had previously served within ADSU in connection with an alleged drug-importation conspiracy. The allegations remain subject to judicial determination. In July, a serving police officer attached to the presidential VIP Security Unit was arrested in an investigation concerning alleged cocaine trafficking. Again, the presumption of innocence applies. Separately, an investigation into an alleged cannabis-trafficking route between Réunion and Mauritius recently resulted in the arrest of the husband of a Mauritian junior minister on a provisional allegation of conspiracy to import drugs. The Prime Minister publicly stated that investigators should proceed without political interference.

None of these cases proves that ADSU or the Mauritius Police Force as institutions are corrupt. They do, however, demonstrate why independent scrutiny, evidential integrity and accountability are indispensable, particularly where foreign defendants face extremely serious drug charges and potentially lengthy periods of detention.

A criminal accusation does not extinguish human rights Foreign Prisoners Network emphasises that this appeal is not an argument for impunity. Mauritius has every right and indeed a responsibility to combat organised crime and international drug trafficking. But the enforcement of criminal law can never justify abandoning the fundamental rights of people accused or convicted of offences.

A prisoner remains a human being. A person held on remand remains entitled to the presumption of innocence. Nationality cannot determine dignity. Race cannot determine treatment. And imprisonment cannot become a licence for humiliation, arbitrary deprivation or institutional indifference. Immediate independent inspection requested Foreign Prisoners Network now calls for urgent action and requests: An unannounced independent inspection of Melrose Prison by the National Preventive Mechanism Division of the National Human Rights Commission of Mauritius.

An immediate review of the alleged reduction in prisoner remuneration from approximately Rs 1,550 to Rs 125 per month, including its impact upon access to communication and basic permitted necessities. Guaranteed practical and affordable access to family communication, particularly for foreign prisoners whose families cannot visit Mauritius.

A confidential investigation into allegations of racial, ethnic and nationality-based discrimination within Melrose Prison. Protection against retaliation for prisoners who communicate with lawyers, consular representatives, journalists or human-rights organisations about detention conditions. Confidential and meaningful access to legal counsel and consular assistance for foreign detainees.

Independent review of criminal cases where material evidence or investigative actions originated from law-enforcement officers who subsequently became themselves subject to serious integrity or drug-related criminal investigations, wherever such circumstances are relevant to the reliability of the evidence.

Publication by the authorities of the rules governing prisoner work, remuneration, telephone access and canteen expenditure, so that these policies can be independently scrutinised.

Mauritius already has a National Preventive Mechanism Division specifically tasked with ensuring that authorities respect the basic human rights of detainees and with reference to the Nelson Mandela Rules. The Office of the Ombudsman also has jurisdiction to investigate complaints concerning alleged maladministration by both the Police Force and Prison Service.

There is therefore no institutional excuse for silence. Foreign Prisoners Network: “Open the doors to independent scrutiny” Foreign Prisoners Network calls upon the Government of Mauritius, the Mauritius Prison Service, the National Human Rights Commission, diplomatic missions representing foreign detainees and international human-rights organisations to respond. We do not ask anyone to accept every allegation contained in these letters without examination.

We ask precisely the opposite: investigate them. Enter Melrose Prison. Speak privately with foreign prisoners without prison officers present. Examine the financial records. Verify the remuneration decision.

Review access to telephones. Investigate allegations of discriminatory treatment. Examine whether prisoners can communicate freely with lawyers and diplomatic representatives. And publish the findings. Human rights have little value if they exist only in legislation and official reports. Their true test comes behind locked doors, where the people affected have the least power to make themselves heard.

Today, a group of foreign prisoners in Mauritius has found a way to make itself heard.

The question now is whether anyone in authority is prepared to listen.