A/HRC/13/39/Add.2
vegetables. She further said that she would be allowed to give birth at the hospital, but
would have to return to the prison two days after the delivery. She reported that the general
treatment by the prison staff was rude. Sometimes they would lock the detainees up in their
cells for a whole day. They would not care about the children, there were no diapers
available and there was no possibility of conjugal visits. However, conjugal visits were
possible for male detainees in the male section at Canelones. The detainees were allowed to
have a private meeting with their lawyer once a week.
111. Sonia González, Alba Araujo, Ana Erpi, Mariana Tolededo and Marta Riverino
claimed that they were subjected to psychological ill-treatment. Concerning the health
services, they indicated that there was a nurse available every day, but that the doctor only
came twice or three times a week. If the detainees were five minutes late for their
appointment, they were not allowed to go in. They reported that the female guards issued
unjust punishments, including deprivation of visits, packages or time on the patio. One
other concern was that the women were not allowed to leave the prison to see their children.
Finally, they reported the presence of rats and cockroaches throughout the prison.
Santiago Vázquez Prison (COMCAR), Montevideo
Visited on 26 March 2009
General information
112. The Special Rapporteur was received by the Director of the prison, Comisario
Inspector Jose L. Beledo Pérez, and his two deputies. In an open and cooperative manner
the Director admitted that everybody knew that “our prisons are terrible”. The prison is the
largest in the country and has a capacity of 1,600 detainees. At the time of the visit, 2.768
detainees were held in COMCAR. The major problem was thus overcrowding, as well as a
lack of staff. Detainees were held according to classification: in Module 1 (484 detainees)
transvestites, transsexuals, homosexuals, and former police and military officers were held.
These groups were rejected by the general prison population and needed extra security.
Module 2 was a security module with 586 detainees. In total, around 1,000 detainees were
held under a security regime. Modules 3 and 4 were general modules. The management
could not classify the detainees according to the crime or according to pretrial or convicted
status due to a lack of resources. Thus, all kinds of detainees were held together in these
modules. First offenders were held in Module 5, in order to separate them from the
recidivists. However, some of them might have been detained in an INAU facility earlier.
The majority of the detainees in Module 5 were between 18 and 29 years old. A new
module consisted of the so-called “barracas”, with large dormitories for around 40
prisoners each. Detainees were transferred there for good behaviour. However, the prison
administration had not been able to fill the module because of a lack of detainees with a
suitable profile. The barracas had 228 places but there were only 130 to 140 detainees.
113. The prison did not have an area for evaluating detainees since the classification takes
place at the Cárcel Central. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays detainees were
transported from the Cárcel Central, and they received a medical examination upon arrival.
The cells of Module 6 (also called Module 13) were for non-assigned prisoners, for persons
who had caused problems and for those who were awaiting their transfer to Libertad.
Portón 22 was a checkpoint on the way to Modules 1 to 5. Normally, three to four persons
were held in individual cells and up to 10 were held in group cells. In Module 2 the prison
used to have calabozos. Due to overcrowding, however, they had to be used as ordinary
cells. If the detainees behaved well they could also be transferred to La Tablada. Except for
Module 2, there was a generally open regime. The cells were open from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
The detainees could work or study and both primary and secondary education were offered.
GE.09-17655
45
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