A/HRC/13/39/Add.2 number of persons deprived of their liberty per capita73 although Uruguay has one of the lowest crime rates in Latin America.74 78. The entry into force of Law 17.897 and the release of more than 800 prisoners served an initial purpose by reducing the chronic overcrowding in penitentiaries, but has not proven to be effective in curbing the rates of criminal activity and thus the number of detainees. On the contrary, the prison population is on the rise.75 79. A major reason for the high number of persons deprived of their liberty is the slowness of the judicial system and the extensive use of pretrial detention. According to governmental statistics, out of 8,158 persons deprived of their liberty, only 2,790 have been convicted. Therefore, almost two thirds of those persons who are in prison are held in pretrial detention. The percentage increases to 72 per cent in the departmental prisons alone.76 80. The use of pretrial detention seems to be a general rule rather than an exception.77 Even though pretrial detention has been interpreted by national courts as obligatory only for crimes carrying a sentence of more than two years, the imposition of pretrial detention is at the judge’s discretion. In addition, the law does not provide for a maximum period of pretrial detention, but only refers to a “reasonable time”,78 meaning in practice that detainees may remain in pretrial detention until they complete the sentence foreseen in the legislation for the crime of which they are accused. 81. A second reason for the continuing challenges is the punitive penitentiary policy that is applied. The Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that the strict detention regime of locking up detainees for almost 24 hours a day in the cells, the availability of hardly any opportunities for rehabilitation and preparation for reinsertion into society, as well as the lack of education or recreational activities, together with the abominable conditions of detention, lead to higher criminality. This tendency is confirmed by the high rate of recidivism, which, according to Government statistics, is 60 per cent.79 82. The tendency is also linked to the pressure of public opinion while developing policies relating to the criminal justice system. New crimes with longer sentences have continuously been introduced into the national legislation, sending more and more people to prison every year. 73 74 75 76 Ibid., pp. 100–101; ibid., 2007, p. 5. 77 Ibid., 2008, p. 11; Diego Camano Viera, “Prisión Preventiva y Estandándares Internacionales”, in Raúl Ronzoni (ed.), Reforma al Sistema Penal y Carcelario en Uruguay, 2008, p. 127. Camano Viera, op. cit., p. 129. See also Comisionado Parlamentario, Informe de Actuación y Evaluación del Sistema Penitenciario Nacional, 2007, p. 5., ibid., 2008, pp. 92–94. 78 79 18 Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer (CLADEM) Uruguay, Mujeres privadas de libertad en el Uruguay: Informe sobre la condiciones de reclusión, 2006, at www.cladem.org/espanol/nacionales/uruguay/UY-informeprivadaslibertad.asp. Ministerio del Interior, Panorama de la violencia, criminalidad y la inseguridad en Uruguay. Datos, tendencias y perspectivas, 2008, at www.undp.org.uy/showNews.asp?NewsId=624; Comisionado Parlamentario, Informe de Actuación y Evaluación del Sistema Penitenciario Nacional, 2007, p. 5., ibid., 2008, p. 73. Comisionado Parlamentario, Informe de Actuación y Evaluación del Sistema Penitenciario Nacional, 2008, pp. 11 and 85 et conseq. GE.09-17655