Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga is willing to meet former political prisoners — Josefa Nata, Timoci Silatolu and the Turaga na Qaranivalu Ratu Inoke Takiveikata — to discuss prison reform.
He said the trio could provide valuable insights into how the Fiji Corrections Services could be improved.
“I would like to organise a retreat for him and other political prisoners, a few of them who are quite educated, and they observed the conditions of the prisons,” Mr Turaga said.
“Firstly, they need to go through their healing process and then I would like to get their feedback on what we can improve on.
“We can have a discussion because they have said that our system is not foolproof, our officers are not that loyal or disciplined, then things like inmate deaths will happen.
“We need to be properly held accounted for.”
He said at the beginning of his tenure as Minister for Justice last year, he was hesitant to take onboard feedback from current and former inmates.
“Over the past 10 months, I’ve met with current and former prisoners and they told of things that happened which I later found out were not true.
“So that is something that I have to manage.
“What I have to gauge is how much of what they are telling me is the truth.”
