Community To Hold Candlelight Vigil Outside Of Mount Eden Prison For Murdered Prisoner
WHAT:
Members of slain Auckland man Andrew Chan Chui’s family will be holding a candlelight vigil outside of Mount Eden Prison, to memorialise the life and death of their brother and son. The prison abolitionist community group People Against Prisons Aotearoa is supporting the Chan Chui family to hold the vigil.
WHEN:
7:30pm, Saturday October 5th.
WHO:
Confirmed speakers:
Dr. Emmy Rākete, People Against Prisons Aotearoa’s press spokesperson (available for interview)
WHERE:
At the main entrance of Mount Eden Corrections Facility, 1 Lauder Road, Mount Eden, Auckland.
BACKGROUND:
Andrew Chan Chui was found dead in his cell at Mount Eden Prison last week. His cellmate has been charged with his murder. The Chan Chui whānau maintain that Andrew’s death was the consequence of double bunking, and that he would be alive today if he had not been locked into a shared cell. 72% of Mount Eden’s population are double bunked, compared to just 41% of New Zealand’s prison population overall. In 2017, Stephen Gotty was convicted for raping his cellmate in a double bunked cell in Mount Eden Prison.