JUSTICE TRENDS JUSTICE TRENDS Nr. 1 | June 2017 | Page 178

HUMAN RIGHTS / DERECHOS HUMANOS with a Law degree later on. And I used my legal knowledge to help my fellow inmates in prison through the legal aid clinic that I set up in prison. So, many of them access Justice through that legal aid clinic which was free of charge, of course. And that was the condition in the prison and I was really helping them in their rehabilitation so, I realized that honestly, it was worth it to take my degree in Common Law. pena tomar mi título en Derecho Común. JT: What has enabled your release before the end of your sentence and what is your situation before the Justice system of Uganda? SK: I am released, totally. I’m free. I don’t have anything like I’m on probation or anything... I’m free. I was released because of my good conduct in prison, and because of the way I have reformed, because I was helping prison authorities to rehabilitate other prisoners, and because of the way I was involved in different activities in prison. Even the outside society would really see that Susan Kigula, though she’s still in prison, she’s doing a great work in cutting crime. In Uganda Prison Service if you’re well behaved, and if you have a good conduct report and they are really convinced that you’re ready to join the society, that you are not a threat to society – instead, that you get to benefit society – they reduce the time you’re supposed to be in prison, because they realize that society needs you to go out there and help transform people’s lives. So this is how I was released. JT: What have you been up to since your release and what have you been involved in, as far as human rights and the abolition of the death penalty are concerned? SK: I was released a year ago, and I have been attending a number of events: I attended the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, in Norway and I have been invited as a guest speaker at that conference that took place in June last year. And then I was invited to Sweden, to speak on behalf of the children of prisoners. And I was invited as well to go to France, to commemorate the 50th anniversary since the abolition of the death penalty of that country, and also to celebrate the World Day against the Death Penalty – that was in October last year. Then I was in Romania as a speaker – I was invited by ICPA – I was there to represent African Prisons Project, and then I was invited to Italy, by the Community of Sant’Egidio, to attend and participate in the activities of the International Conference “No Justice Without Life – The Death Penalty in a Globalized World” – that is a campaign against the death penalty as well. And I visited so many universities – in France, as well, I spoke to the students in universities on how to make better choices in life, I helped them to actually embrace and appreciate what they have, and I also tried to help them realize that even if their countries don’t have the death penalty, they should not just think that it’s OK, because anytime anyone can come up and try to convince the nation to re–instate it. Recently I was invited to a high–level panel on the death penalty in Geneva, Switzerland: I was speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council – that was this last February to March. I’ve attended many different conferences: I was in Gambia to speak in the human rights conference and I am always involved and engaged in activities 178   JUSTICE TRENDS //  J U N E / J U N I O 2 0 1 7 Uganda Prison / Prisión de Uganda JT: ¿Qué ha permitido su liberación antes del final de su condena y cuál es su situación ante el sistema judicial de Ugand