For the past three years, the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) of the Roman Catholic diocese has been working on the subject that is making the headlines and shocking the whole population: alleged police brutality that may have caused the death of detainee Ramesh Ramlogun and the subsequent arrest of seven investigators of SP Prem Raddhoa?s team. In that respect, the JPC chairperson, Lindsay Morvan, has made two requests. First, the interdiction of the whole Major Crime Investigation team (MCIT) as well as the head himself, SP Prem Raddhoa.

Lindsay Morvan argues that this would allow a transparent investigation on the death of Rajesh Ramlogun. Furthermore, he wishes that the Central Criminal Investigation Division (CCID) should not use any violence and intimidation during the questioning of the policemen arrested and provisionally charged with murder in the context of this death. ?Guilty or not, those policemen should have special protection to avoid brutality against them. They have to be treated in a decent way!?

The JPC was set up on 6th March 1967 by Pope Paul VI, as an institution in the Catholic Church. As is the case with all branches all over the world, the JPC studies all the issues of social justice in the economic and political issues in the country.

The Catholic Church thus expresses its positions on non-religious problems that affect Mauritian society. The commission has been contributing through its proposals and reflections to raising awareness about the general problems of our country.

To achieve these objectives, the commission develops links with other groups and organizations that share the same values of social justice to build strong networks. In other words, the Commission operates with the collaboration of other organizations that are able to take over depending on their areas of expertise.

Rights of detainees

The Mauritian branch was created in 1973 by Bishop Jean Margéot and its first president was Pierre Dinan, followed by Lilian Berthelot, for more than 25 years, with Mgr Amedée Nagapen as chaplain, In 1982, its booklet on politics was used by MMM candidates during the electoral campaign and some said that this study had a great impact on voters and resulted in the first 60-0 of our history bringing an end to 13 years of Labour government led by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam..

The organization was rejuvenated two or three years ago and it now has seven members with Lindsay Morvan as the president since July 2005, and Guillaume Valet as vice-president. The secretary and the treasurer are Sonia Xavier and Anne Desvaux while Monseigneur Piat acts as chaplain.

In 2004, in the context of a campaign on human rights, a document was published and distributed. It was to specify the rights of detainees during questioning. In fact, it made them aware of the rights and duties of both police officers and themselves. It would also raise public awareness of this issue. The whole initiative was under the responsibility of Josie Lapierre.

Mrs Sihakatsemo, responsible for the UN Commission for Human Rights in Africa, came to Mauritius during a campaign for women?s rights. During her stay, she met the various stakeholders. The JPC was one of them. She recommended the request for a special reporter from the UN. On 27th December 2005, the JPC reiterated this request to the attorney general, Rama Valayden. According to the NGO, such a reporter would help in many ways, such as drawing attention to the number of cases of police brutality in Mauritius.