Omrie Golley

From Lord Avebury P0613082

Tel 020-7274 4617
Email ericavebury@gmail.com



August 13, 2006

Dear David,

I attach a medical report on Omrie Golley, a former spokesperson for the RUF who has been in custody in Freetown since January 13, 2006 on charges of treason, and conspiracy to murder the vice-president, Solomon Berewa. He was refused bail on July 24 by a vacation judge, who did not look at the medical report, and it was reported in the Concord Times of July 25 that the British High Commission had expressed concern about his health, but the report added that he was a dual British/Sierra Leone citizen.

I am aware that under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, we would have no locus to make official representations on behalf of a dual citizen. However, under the law of Sierra Leone a person who takes any other citizenship forfeits his Sierra Leone citizenship. Therefore Mr Golley is a British citizen only, and we should make formal representations to the Sierra Leone authorities to see that he receives proper medical attention. At the very least he should be given appropriate medication, for example to reduce his high blood pressure, but I think we should support a new bail application at which another vacation judge could be invited to consider the medical report, with a view to having Mr Golley transferred to hospital, as would be normal, I hope, where a prisoner is ill enough to justify it.



The Lord Triesman,
Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
London SW1A 2AH.