35
Uruguay
Venezuela
From 2005 to 2009 there were a total of 452 assaults among prisoners
(2005:141/2006:66/2007:64/2008:75/2009:16); and 57 homicides
(2005:6/2006:20/2007:11/2008:10/2009:10).
The figures provided by the State with respect to acts of violence (riots,
brawls, and fights) in 2005‐2009 are as follows:
2005: 1,102 violent acts (population of 18,218 inmates);
2006: 1,322 violent acts (population of 18,700 inmates);
2007: 1,561 violent acts (population of 21,201 inmates);
2008: 1,250 violent acts (population of 24,279 inmates); and
2009: 988 violent acts (population of 32,624 inmates).
In terms of the total number of persons wounded and killed, the State
presents the following figures:
2005: 721 wounded and 381 killed;
2006: 934 wounded and 388 killed;
2007: 1,103 wounded and 458 killed;
2008: 876 wounded and 374 killed; and
2009: 724 wounded and 264 killed
Totals: 4,358 wounded ad 1,865 killed.
100.
Indeed, prison violence is one of the most serious problems faced by the
region’s prison systems, to a greater or lesser extent depending on the specific context.
Prison violence, as a violation of the rights to life and humane treatment, is one and the
same in reality, though its manifestations may vary depending on the specific
circumstances. It also includes assaults by State agents against persons under their custody,
such as the acts of violence among inmates or those committed by inmates against State
agents or third persons.
101.
The organs of the Inter‐American human rights system for the protection
of human rights, through the exercise of their various powers and jurisdictions, have ruled
on various situations of prison violence in the region.
102.
The vast majority of the provisional measures granted by the Inter‐
American Court with respect to persons deprived of liberty have been based mainly on
grave acts of prison violence and lack of effective control by the authorities over the
prisons.
103.
For example, in the provisional measures on The Mendoza Prisons,
granted by the Court on November 22, 2004, two fundamental factors were taken into
consideration: the high levels of prison violence in the seven months prior to the granting
of measures, which had resulted in the deaths or injuries to several persons deprived of
liberty, as well as some prison guards, in fires, fights among inmates, and circumstances
that were not clarified; and the deplorable conditions of detention in those prisons,
characterized by overcrowding, the lack of basic services, and the unhygienic and
115
insalubrious considerations of the facilities. The grave living conditions of persons
115
I/A Court H.R., Provisional Measures in the matter of the Mendoza Prisons, Order of the Inter‐
American Court of Human Rights, November 22, 2004, Having seen paragraph 2 and Considering paragraphs 7 and
11.
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