FLY calls for an independent and impartial investigation into the treatment of prisoners following their recapture.
Monrovia, Liberia | September 23, 2026
The Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) condemns the jailbreak at the Kakata Central Prison and expresses deep concern about the security failures that allowed prisoners to escape from state custody.
Those who escaped must be lawfully recaptured, and anyone found responsible for the jailbreak must face due process and the full consequences provided by law. The safety of communities, correctional officers and the public must remain a priority.
At the same time, FLY is deeply concerned by images and videos circulating publicly showing at least one recaptured prisoner being returned to custody in a state of undress. While the full circumstances surrounding the footage remain unclear, the images raise serious questions about whether persons in state custody may have been subjected to degrading or humiliating treatment.
FLY therefore calls for an independent and impartial investigation into the treatment of prisoners following their recapture.
Our position is straightforward: we are not defending the jailbreak. We are defending the rule of law.
A person does not lose their basic human dignity because they have been accused or convicted of a crime, or because they have escaped from lawful custody. The State has the authority and responsibility to restrain and prosecute escapees, but that authority must always be exercised within the Constitution and Liberia's human rights obligations.
The Government must therefore answer two separate but equally important questions:
How did prisoners escape from a state correctional facility, and how were those prisoners treated after they were recaptured?
FLY calls on the Ministry of Justice to:
- Commission an independent investigation into the treatment of all recaptured prisoners and make its findings public.
- Preserve and review relevant video footage, photographs, prison records, duty rosters, medical records and other evidence necessary to establish what occurred.
- Identify and hold accountable anyone found to have subjected prisoners to torture, cruel, degrading or humiliating treatment.
- Provide appropriate medical assessment and protection for prisoners where there are allegations or evidence of abuse.
- Conduct a comprehensive investigation into the security failure at Kakata Central Prison, including staffing, command responsibility, prison infrastructure and the circumstances preceding the escape.
FLY also calls on the Liberia National Human Rights Commission and other appropriate independent human rights actors to monitor and, where within their mandate, independently investigate allegations concerning the treatment of recaptured prisoners.
We further call for a broader national conversation on correctional reform. The repeated security concerns surrounding Kakata Central Prison demand more than temporary responses after a crisis. Liberia needs correctional facilities that are secure enough to protect society, properly staffed and managed, and humane enough to respect the dignity of every person placed in state custody. Public safety and human rights are not opposing principles. A credible justice system must uphold both.
The Federation of Liberian Youth stands firmly for accountability for the jailbreak, accountability for institutional failures that may have enabled it, and accountability for any abuse committed against persons in state custody.
We will not defend the escape. We will defend the law.
Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY)
Office of the President
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