AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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The Minister of National Defense and Interior supervised and effectively controlled
the military services and the police. Many members of the military were
part-time farmers or fishermen. The Government and international donors continued
to dedicate resources to improving soldiers’ living conditions. No defense expenditures
were used for lethal weapons since the advent of multiparty democracy
in 1990.
The mainstay of the economy was the export of a single product, cocoa, produced
on formerly state-run plantations. According to the 2002 census, the country had a
population of 137,500. The Government privatized all of the state-held land, but it
had limited success in privatizing state-owned enterprises. The Government was
somewhat successful in its efforts at structural adjustment. The country remained
highly dependent on foreign aid. Although difficult to quantify, unemployment remained
high.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however,
there were problems in some areas. The principal human rights problems continued
to be harsh prison conditions, an inefficient judicial system, violence and discrimination
against women, child labor, and outdated plantation labor practices that limit
worker rights. Sao Tome and Principe was invited by the Community of Democracies’
(CD) Convening Group to attend the November 2002 second CD Ministerial
Meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea, as a participant.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.—There was one report of a possible
arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life by the Government or its agents. On October
29, police arrested 24-year-old Ineas Cravid for the alleged rape of a 13-yearold
girl. After 2 hours in custody, police took Cravid to the National Hospital where
he was declared dead. An autopsy determined that he died of poisoning. In response
to public pressure, the Government requested a Portuguese physician to perform a
second autopsy, which confirmed he had died of poisoning. However, there were
growing doubts about police conduct: Reportedly a senior police official, who may
have filed the original complaint, was a close relative of the alleged rape victim;
Cravid reportedly told police that he intended to marry the girl; and after his death,
the girl told the media that he had not molested her. At year’s end, the Portuguese
specialist was performing further tests to determine what toxins were present in
Cravid’s body.
b. Disappearance.—There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.—
The Constitution prohibits such practices, and there were no reports that government
officials employed them.
Prison conditions were harsh but not life threatening. Facilities were overcrowded,
and food was inadequate. Women and men were held separately, and juveniles
were separated from adults.
Human rights monitors were not known to have requested permission to make
prison visits during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile.—The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest
and detention, and the Government generally observed these prohibitions.
Forced exile was not used.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.—The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary,
and the Government generally respected this provision in practice; however,
the judicial system at times was subject to political influence or manipulation. In
previous years, the judiciary returned verdicts against both the President and the
Government. The Government has important powers relating to the judiciary, including
setting salaries for judges and all ministerial employees in accordance with
standard government salary guidelines. Government salaries were extremely low,
and the authorities were concerned that judges may be tempted to accept bribes (see
Section 6.e.).
The legal system was based on a Portuguese model. The court system had two
levels: Circuit courts and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was the appellate
court of last resort.
The Constitution provides for the right to fair public trial, the right of appeal, and
the right to legal representation. However, in practice the judicial infrastructure
suffered from severe budgetary constraints, inadequate facilities, and a shortage of
trained judges and lawyers, which caused delays from 3 to 9 months in bringing
cases to court and greatly hindered investigations in criminal cases.
There were no reports of political prisoners.
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