A/HRC/13/39/Add.2
In this position he was beaten by four guards: Wilmar, Escuarcia, Pablo and Millan, while
the cook stood by watching. They beat him with their fists on his abdomen and chest and he
was left hanging in that position for five hours. He was also given an injection by the doctor
that put him to sleep immediately. In SER he did not experience any beatings. The
punishment for cutting themselves in SER was that they were not allowed to go out for two
days. Another punishment for “really” bad behaviour was isolation for up to 30 days. The
food was generally good. The worst guards were the “calefones”, who were detainees from
Ituzaingó.
Transition Centre – Las Puertas, Montevideo
Visited on 22 March 2009
General information
25.
Las Puertas is located in the centre of Montevideo and serves as transition centre for
juvenile offenders. The minors may be detained there for a maximum period of 25 days in
order to be assessed, and then they are sent on to the different establishments. At the time of
the visit, 19 adolescents were detained in the closed, back part of the facilities, while 11
were in the more open front part, where the boys are allowed to be out of the cells and in a
common room from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The boys held under the strict regime (back part) could
go for a walk in the courtyard which was covered with a roof for 1 1/2 hours each day. The
conditions of detention were very poor. The cells were spartanly equipped and there were
no activities for the boys. The Special Rapporteur received several allegations of beatings
and collective punishments. The guards called Millán, Willie, Julio and Chino were
mentioned as the main perpetrators. Ten days before the visit, a riot took place, during
which some mattresses were burnt or destroyed.
Recommendations
26.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that prompt and independent investigations of
all allegations of ill-treatment be carried out in order to bring those responsible to justice.
Individual cases
27.
Two detainees, aged 17, claimed that they had been beaten by the police after their
arrest and initial medical exam, and that they could only talk on the phone for three minutes
a week, with a guard listening to their conversations. One of the detainees had been
detained in the back part (strict regime) of Las Puertas for five days. He had previously
been detained at the Ariel Home in Colonia Berro, from where he escaped. He explained
that he had lived on the street for 1 1/2 years before he was re-arrested. They were both
suffering from the strict regime and the conditions of detention at Las Puertas. They
particularly complained about the inedible food and terrible hygienic situation in the cells,
including rats in the toilet and cockroaches in the food. One of the detainees said that the
conditions had deteriorated since his last stay at Las Puertas two years before. He
remembered that at that time, he was able to see a psychologist and that the physical
conditions of the establishment were better.
28.
A male detainee, aged 17, escaped from the Desafio Home in Colonia Berro, had
been re-arrested and was taken to Las Puertas, where he was detained in the back part for
one month. Previous to that, he spent two days in detention in the front part. During this
period, one of his hands was handcuffed to the leg of a pool table, which was in the
entrance hall, and beaten with a pool cue after he tried to escape. He did not file a
complaint out of fear of reprisals. Consequently, he was transferred to the closed wing of
Las Puertas. He was informed that he would be transferred to Colonia Berro on 20 April
30
GE.09-17655
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents