96
247.
In the case of Yvon Neptune, the Court reaffirmed the standard that
this provision “imposes on the States the obligation to establish a classification system
for prisoners in penitentiary centers, in order to guarantee that accused persons are
separated from convicted persons, and receive treatment adapted to their status as
unconvicted persons.” The Court also considered, in keeping with the IACHR’s Principles
and Best Practices, that the separation between both categories of inmates “requires
not only keeping them in different cells, but also that these cells be located in different
347
sections within a detention center, or in different institutions if this is possible.”
248.
The HRC has also explicitly recognized the importance of this provision
in terms of respect for the principle of the presumption of innocence, and has
established that the States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights should “indicate how the separation of accused persons from convicted persons
is effected and explain how the treatment of accused persons differs from that of
348
convicted persons.” In so doing, the HRC emphasizes that Article 10.2 of this treaty
requires concrete measures to be taken for its implementation.
249.
In addressing the separation of inmates by category, such as
segregating the accused from the convicted, the IACHR’s Principles and Best Practices
also establish that these two categories of persons deprived of liberty should “be kept in
separate places of deprivation of liberty or in different sections within the same
institution;” and provide that “[u]nder no circumstances shall the separation of persons
deprived of liberty based on categories should be used to justify discrimination, the use
of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, or the imposition of
harsher or less adequate conditions on a particular group […]” (Principle XIX).
250.
In this regard, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons
Under any Form of Detention or Imprisonment also establishes as a general rule that
“[t]he imposition of restrictions upon such a person which are not strictly required for
the purpose of the detention or to prevent hindrance to the process of investigation or
…continuation
Reparations and Costs. Judgment May 6, 2008. Series C No. 180, para. 150; I/A Court HR., Case of Montero
Aranguren et al (Retén de Catia) v. Venezuela. Judgment of July 5, 2006. Series C No. 150, para. 104; I/A Court
HR., Case of López Álvarez v. Honduras. Judgment February 1, 2006. Series C No. 14, paras. 111 and 112; I/A
Court HR. Case of Tibi v. Ecuador. Judgment September 7, 2004. Series C No. 114, para. 158. Likewise, the
United Nations Human Rights Committee has found the concrete violation of Article 10.2 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in cases where the victim was held in pretrial detention together with
convicted persons. See, for example, UN, HRC, Communication No. 1813/2008, Ebenezer Derek Mbongo
Akwanga v. Cameroon, decision of March 22, 2011, CCPR/C/101/D/1813/2008, para. 7.3.
347
I/A Court HR., Case of Yvon Neptune v. Haiti. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment May 6,
2008. Series C No. 180, paras. 146 and 147.
348
UN, Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 21: Humane Treatment of Persons
Deprived of Liberty, approved at the 44th session (1992), para. 9. In Compilation of General Comments and
General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies Volume I, HRI/GEN/1/Rev.9 (Vol.I)
published on May 27, 2008, p. 243.
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