human rights

Prison conditions violated standards

LA PRENSA

Rehab: Prison cells in the Avesa building will be reconditioned to ensure they meet minimum international human rights standards. 982361

Attorney general Ana Matilde Gómez has ordered the emptying and reconditioning of the "inferno" otherwise known as the Avesa cell block, which was occupied by prisoners involved in drug-related crimes, following complaints last December from the Comité contra el Abuso de la Detención Preventiva.

The Comité’s complaints echoed those made by the Comisión de Justicia y Paz, the Catholic church and the Colegio Nacional de Abogados as well. Among other things, it denounced the practice of keeping prisoners inside all day without light or ventilation, inadequate visiting facilities, the location of women's cells near the PTJ's canine units and lax security.

In an official communication sent last January to the president of the committee, Carlos Herrera Morán, Gómez confirmed that the prisoners had been transferred to jails under the administration of the Ministerio de Gobierno y Justicia. She also confirmed the relocation of the Unidad Canina, the Unidad de Control de Químicos and the División de Narcóticos of the Policía Técnica Judicial (PTJ), which were viewed as part of the problem at the prison.

The purpose of the move is "to guarantee for the accused

. . .the minimal conditions established by international human rights, and to protect them," the attorney general said.

The director of Coordinación Penitenciaria del Ministerio Público (MP), Diomedes Kaa, confirmed that prison conditions were substandard after an inspection of the cells. He reported that prisoners were sometimes kept inside "for months." According to Panamanian law, prisoners must be allowed to go outside at least every 24 hours. He also reported that the men's and women's cells were badly overcrowded. There were 32 people living in cells with a capacity for 10.

"Inmates couldn't get sun in the yard, because there is no yard," he said. He also noted that the number of prisoner's family visitors had to be limited because there wasn't enough room for them.

"We're enlarging the cells to make sure they get ventilation and light. We're also rehabilitating the bathrooms and looking at installing televisions and air conditioning. We're going to construct a visiting area for family and lawyers, and an eating area for the inmates," the director said. The work is expected to be finished by the end of this month or in March.

Meanwhile, the inmates have been sent to temporary prisons belonging to the now extinct PTJ and Policia Nacional.