IACHR announces that it will come to Ecuador in December for serious acts of violence in prisons

Concerned about the acts of violence that have taken place in Ecuador’s prisons, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announced that it will come to the country for a working visit from December 1-3.

There, it will analyze the situation faced by inmates or those deprived of liberty in detention centers in Ecuador, which have been marked by high rates of violence, “for which it thanks the State for its openness and acceptance to carry out such a visit,” states the Commission. in a press release.

In the letter they cite that the States have the “unavoidable duty to adopt concrete and immediate measures to guarantee the rights to life and personal integrity” of those in their custody, in accordance with the Principles and Good Practices of the Protection of Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas.

Therefore, the statement adds, “it is the duty of the State of Ecuador to implement effective actions to prevent and control possible outbreaks of violence in detention centers.”

Also, the State must prevent the actions of criminal organizations with a presence in prison facilities, impose effective controls to prevent the entry of weapons and other illicit objects, implement protocols to prevent riots and restore security conditions, explains the entity.

In addition, to increase the personnel assigned to security and internal surveillance, as well as to investigate ex officio, seriously, promptly and impartially (with due diligence) the acts of violence, identify and punish those responsible for these acts, the statement from the IACHR when referring to the duty of the Ecuadorian State, in accordance with the principles and practices of protection in America.

The IACHR expressed its concern over what it considers serious acts of violence that occurred in the Guayas Center for the Deprivation of Liberty No. 1, better known as the Litoral Penitentiary, where at least 68 inmates died in the last violent event, which took place between the Night of Friday 12 and early morning of 13, and 25 others were injured. Of the injured, 21 had been transferred to different hospitals, according to the official report.

The letter also states that the IACHR takes note of the security measures adopted by the State to restore order in the Penitentiary, such as the deployment of nearly 1,000 members of the National Police and the Armed Forces. Of these, 500 police officers inside the center and 400 on the perimeter, as well as personnel from the Armed Forces abroad.

The IACHR is also concerned about the declaration of a hunger strike by the inmates of the Turi and Cotopaxi prisons on November 13 and 14, which was in rejection of violent acts such as those in the Penitentiary.

The Commission warns that these deaths occurred in a context of repeated confrontations. And it exposes the figures they know: so far in 2021, 316 inmates have died from these acts of violence. And he maintains that these figures multiply violent deaths in detention almost seven times compared to the 46 deaths reported in 2020. (I)