In early August over 200 emergency detainees held in Johannesburg Prison went on hunger strike after they had submitted a 10-page memorandum to the Minister of Law and Order. It was similar to one sent to the Minister in October last year. In July, 11 of the 12 women detainees held in Johannesburg Prison went on hunger strike when the Minister failed to meet their demands or respond to a memorandum which they submitted. Although it is not clear whether the women ended their original strike, it was reported however that they were taking part in the August hunger strike.
The detainees maintained that their complaints received 'little or no attention' when raised with prison authorities. A major grievance was that of poor administration. The detainees stated that the head of Johannesburg Prison, who is supposed to visit the prison cells on a weekly basis in terms of the prison regulations, seldom carried out his duties. The detainees were thereby denied an opportunity to present their grievances to a higher authority than the officer in charge of their section. 'On the occasion that he came, he refused to record our complaints', they noted.
They also complained that some prison warders threatened them with violence. They demanded to be allowed more time with their visitors and that visiting privileges be extended to friends as well as family. Food was both insufficient and poor in quality and sometimes contained worms. Medical provision was deemed inadequate, and new detainees were given 'dirty, stinking and worn-out blankets'. They demanded sufficient hot water, clean blankets and sheets, adequate hotblower facilities and sufficient supplies of toothpaste and toilet rolls. Only seven toilet rolls were supplied to 32 detainees per week. Provisions for those pursuing their studies were limited in a manner that affected their progress.
The detainees, who continued the hunger strike until the prison authorities agreed to negotiate with them over their grievances, stated in their memorandum: 'We wish to advise you, that as political detainees, we expect you and your government to treat us in accordance with internationally recognised standards for the treatment of political prisoners'.
CHILDREN IN DETENTION - In October monitoring groups listed 176 people in the Transvaal in detention on 30 September, who were 18 years old or younger when taken into detention - 9 of them in June 1986.
