A/HRC/13/39/Add.2
reportedly very high, so that the detainees had to take turns in front of the small opening in
order to get enough air to breath. The sewage system had broken down. Detainees had
restricted access to water, and were therefore forced to drink water from the toilet. In turn,
they had to use plastic bottles or bags to relieve themselves, which were later thrown into
the courtyard shared by each module. As a result, the metal containers were surrounded by
heaps of garbage, creating an unbearable smell. The detainees were only allowed to go out
of the cells for a maximum of four hours a week. Medical attention was not easily obtained;
as a result, detainees cut themselves in order to be taken to a doctor. The food provided by
the prison staff was practically uneatable. The Special Rapporteur received a vast number
of complaints regarding the inhuman conditions of detention, the general treatment, as well
as the lack of medical treatment. On the day of the visit, a total of 251 persons were
detained in the metal containers. Two or three persons shared each container;
(b)
“La Isla” is a separate small building with several cells used for the isolation
of detainees, whether for security or punishment purposes or for prisoners who wished to be
isolated. During the dictatorship “La Isla” was particularly notorious for torture; nowadays
the conditions of detention differed from cell to cell, but were mostly in line with
international standards. Ten prisoners were held in La Isla the day of the visit of the Special
Rapporteur. None of the detainees made any complaints;
(c)
The “Celdario”, a five-storey brick building accommodating 587 detainees
who were held in cells of one to three persons on all five floors. Maximum security
facilities were located in the first and fifth floors. Prisoners in the Celdario had more space
than in Las Latas, although not all of them had mattresses. The cells were clean and the
windows allowed natural light into the cell. However, the regime was equally strict, since
the prisoners were only allowed to leave the cell for a maximum of four hours weekly.
Most of the time, the prisoners were locked up in their cells without any meaningful
opportunities to work, for recreation, to receive training or to do any other rehabilitative
activities;
(d)
In “Las Barracas” 50 prisoners were held, who reportedly were selected on
the basis of their good behaviour. They enjoyed the rights to work and study and reportedly
had more free space.
64.
Besides numerous complaints regarding the inhuman conditions of detention, the
Special Rapporteur received many complaints concerning the very intrusive inspections,
including the body cavity searches that visitors, including women and children, were
subjected to when they visited their family members in prison. An additional complaint
received from many detainees was that their families were unable to visit them, since many
of them came from places far from Montevideo.
65.
When confronted with the inhuman conditions of detention, the Head of the
Penitentiary System, who was present during the visit of the Special Rapporteur, strongly
defended the conditions as the prisoners held under such conditions were the worst
criminals who deserved no better treatment. The interim prison director said that more
guards and more technology, including computers, additional surveillance cameras, a
computerized medical system, etc. would be needed.
Individual cases
“Las Latas”
66.
Gustavo Figueroa, aged 50, had stomach cancer and reported that he had not
received any medical treatment. He added that his family brought medicines during their
visits, but the prison guards did not allow him to keep them.
GE.09-17655
37
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