Cameroon : prisons severely overcrowded

Yaounde - Human rights groups in Cameroon say prisons constructed for 500 detainees are housing more than 3,000 people, many of whom can be held for years without charge in inhumane conditions. The government says it is working on solutions.

Kondengui prison was constructed for 750 inmates but now holds more than 4,000 men, women and children. Cameroon National Institute of Statistics reports there are about 30,000 peopleheld in the country’s 78 prisons.