BY Tony Edike

ENUGU- Human rights group, Centre For Victims of Extra–Judicial killing and Torture (CVEKT Africa), Sunday, alerted the Federal Government over unjust, inhuman and discriminatory treatment being meted out to over 120 Nigerians currently serving jail terms in the Czech Republic.

The group called on President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently intervene and save the citizens whose lives were said to be in jeopardy.

Executive Director of the organization, Rev. Father Tony Amarube, told newsmen in Enugu that his office received a representation from the Truth and Justice Organization, Nigeria, early this year on the case of six Nigerians currently languishing in Czech prisons.

Amarube said: “Early this year, CVEKT received a representation from the Truth and Justice Organization, Nigeria, on the deplorable case of six Nigerians, out of the over 120 serving various prison terms in Czech Republic under very unjust, inhuman, and discriminatory terms and conditions as a result of which the lives of the six Nigerians were reportedly in jeopardy.”

He said the organization decided to intervene in the matter because it engages in the promotion of humanitarian and human rights cases as well as intervention and advocacy actions and programmes on behalf of victims of extra-judicial killings and torture.

The Catholic Priest said the gruesome condition of these Nigerians was first highlighted by an international law Advocate, Daniel Uchenna of Duo consulting LB Limited, a London-based law firm and charity organization, which had in January 2010 made a frantic representation to the Nigerian Ambassador in Czech Republic, then Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Assembly for their intervention but to no avail.

Rev. Fr. Amarube stated that the Duo consulting LB limited, had lamented how the Czech government, through its judiciary, had been violating fundamental principles of human rights, fair trial, and judgment in respect of Nigerian suspects in their country, based on information received from Nigerians incarcerated in that nation for various criminal charges, some of whom contacted the Duo organization for intervention.

He noted that Nigerian suspects were given discriminatory jail sentences by the Czech authorities, and mentioned specific instances in which Nigerian suspects were unfairly heard and sentenced to jail terms based on frivolous and speculative accusations without any substantial or direct evidence to justify the sentences.

He added: “Among these instances is the case of Chijioke S. Okonkwo, a Nigerian, and Eva Jasinka, a Czech: file ref No: 47T 16/2008 in which the said Chijioke Okonkwo, was sentenced to 12 years jail term whereas his Czech counterpart, Jasinka Eva, was given four years and discharged after only 13 months of jail term because she was a citizen of that country, while the Nigerian is still languishing in the prison since 2008.

”Another case is that of Sunday Tony Ojukwu and Raphael Ifedili Ejiama, both Nigerians and Denisa Bradacova, a Czech: file ref No: T25/2008 whereas Ojukwu and Ifedili, were sentenced to 10 years each, Bradacova, was discharged from the custody after only one year.”

He said Duo consulting had suggested that because the European Union supported the Czech Republic with grants for non-citizens serving jail terms in Czech, jailing foreigners, especially Nigerians at the flimsiest of reason had become a frequent occurrence.

The group asked the President to, without delay, intervene in the matter, describing the Czech Republic’s action as a form of race discrimination prohibited under international law.