Blog
Announcing our New Executive Director
Message from Sabrina Mahtani, Outgoing Executive Director I’m pleased to announce that in June 2014, Simitie Lavaly took over as Executive Director of AdvocAid. I have continued to work with Simitie and our Senior Management over these past few months to support this...
Sierra Leone’s Women Behind Bars: A new documentary about our work
A film crew from IRIN followed the work of two of AdvocAid's paralegals, Marvel and Victoria, in Freetown and Makeni. This short film showcases the challenges they face and the importance of their free legal aid services with a growing female prison population and...
Law in a Time of Ebola – 2nd blog published in New Internationlist
We are currently writing a series of Law in a Time of Ebola blogs, sharing our work during the tragic Ebola epidemic. Our second blog was published in the New Internationalist this week. When the Ebola epidemic escalated in Sierra Leone around June 2014 we...
Law in the Time of Ebola: Perspectives from Kono
By Chris Randall, law student at Berkley School of Law, who volunteered with AdvocAid in 2014 In a small, sunlit courtyard in Koidu Prison, prisoners Aminatta, Hawa, and Kadi* practice pronouncing and writing letters of the English language. These twice-weekly English...
Help Prevent a School Girl from Spending Christmas in Police Detention
Fatmata is a young secondary school girl, around 18 years old, who is currently being held in police custody at Magburaka Police Station, Northern Sierra Leone. She has been held since 3 December 2013 without charge, way over the 10 day constitutional time limit....
Press Release: No Place for the Death Penalty in Sierra Leone’s Future Constitution
On World Day Against the Death Penalty, 10 October 2013, AdvocAid renews its campaign to ensure that the death penalty is fully abolished in Sierra Leone. The current constitutional review process underway is an excellent opportunity to ensure that the Truth and...
Female Prisoners in Kenema Pass Stage 1 Literacy
A short video of a graduation ceremony in Kenema Female Prison for women who passed their Stage 1 Literacy. AdvocAid runs literacy classes for women in prison across Sierra Leone with our fantastic partner, EducAid, an educational charity. The women are singing...
Urgent Press Release: Unconstitutional Detention of Alleged Electoral Malpractice Suspects by Sierra Leone Police
We, the following civil society organisations, AdvocAid, Amnesty International, Centre for Accountability & Rule of Law (CARL), L.A.W.Y.E.RS (Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights & Social justice), and Prison Watch, strongly condemn the...
AdvocAid’s work featured in IRIN news report
AdvocAid's work, particularly our recent research report on Women, Debt and Detention, was featured in an IRIN news report (below). SIERRA LEONE: Women, debt and detention Photo: Otto Bakano/IRIN Juveniles in a police cell in a Sierra Leone, where women are being...
10 Reasons Sierra Leone Should End the Death Penalty
10 October 2012 marks World Day Against the Death Penalty The TRC recommended that Sierra Leone abolish the death penalty. “Respect for human dignity and human rights must begin with respect for human life. Everyone has the right to life. A society that accords the...