Three months after his visit to Ecuador due to the prison crisis, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has issued from Washington, this Thursday the 17th, an extensive 101-page report describing the shortcomings of a ‘collapsed’ prison system .
The visit of the commissioners took place last December after cruel massacres that occurred in Guayaquil and other prisons, and that in 2021, in only 8 events, left 316 inmates dead.
An absence of effective control by the State of penitentiary centers, self-governance systems, corruption, and insufficient security personnel, are part of the main causes of intra-prison violence that the IACHR identifies in its report.
“One of the pressing problems in the prisons where the most serious acts of violence have occurred is the lack of effective control by the State of the penitentiary centers,” the report cites.
The commissioners note that the State recognized that the prisons where the violent acts of this prison crisis have occurred are being dominated by organized crime groups, even linked to international gangs. And that this would have resulted in the centers being governed in practice by “self-government” systems, which implies that intramural control is exercised by the detainees themselves.
In this context, according to the report, the leaders of these groups charge other inmates illegitimate and abusive prices for their cells and beds, as well as for access to services. Even the keys to the pavilions are in the possession of both the authorities and the persons deprived of liberty.
The report also mentions that the lack of control in the centers would facilitate the entry of drugs and weapons into the penitentiary centers. To this is added the insufficiency of prison officers dedicated to the surveillance and control of the centers, and that said personnel does not have the equipment, training and required preparation.
The report indicates that Ecuador is going through a “serious prison crisis of a structural nature”, characterized by unprecedented levels of violence and corruption within prisons, and that it responds to the abandonment of the prison system by the State for years, as well as to the absence of a comprehensive criminal policy.
The commission warns of the lack of state measures aimed at the prevention and control of crime through a human rights approach that addresses the causes that originate it.
In this sense, he says, the use of a policy that privileges incarceration to solve citizen security problems is observed. This, in turn, has resulted in an exponential increase in incarceration in recent years, excessive use of preventive detention, obstacles to substituting alternative measures to deprivation of liberty, and the impossibility of guaranteeing the social reintegration of detainees.
The commission was struck by the remarkable growth in prison population rates in the country, in particular, of 469.29% over the last 20 years.
New massacre at the Litoral Penitentiary: 68 inmates killed and 25 injured, according to the Prosecutor’s Office
According to data provided to the IACHR by the National Comprehensive Care Service for Adult Persons Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI), as of November 29, 2021, there were 36,599 persons deprived of liberty. These are housed in 36 detention centers -distributed into “deprivation of liberty centers” (CPL), “provisional deprivation of liberty centers” (CPPL) or “social rehabilitation centers” (CRS), located throughout of the country in nine geographical zones.
“The IACHR warns that this phenomenon derives mainly from the adoption of policies that propose higher levels of incarceration as a solution to insecurity, by favoring the application of pretrial detention and hindering the imposition of prison benefits aimed at release,” points out.
Difficulties of the mega-prison model
The commission has indicated that the penitentiary mega complexes cause various problems, such as the generation of conditions contrary to the principle of individualization of the execution of the sentence, the increase in the vulnerability of people belonging to groups at special risk, and the difficulty that custody agents effectively exercise internal control of the facilities.
“This situation is clearly observed in the prison crisis that Ecuador is currently going through,” underlines this instance of the IACHR.
the massacres
Regarding the massacres, the IACHR indicates that the information received by the State is that the majority of the inmates who died were young people who were in preventive detention accused of committing minor crimes. Some of the people who lost their lives in these violent events even had a release ticket.
“The IACHR observes with concern that according to the information received, a high number of persons deprived of liberty who died in the acts of violence were young people who were in pretrial detention accused of committing minor crimes,” it says.
Within these cases, the situation of Leonardo González is pointed out, who had a ballot since June 2021, after having served his eight-month prison sentence. In addition, the case of Erick Ortiz Segura is mentioned, who would have completed his sentence at the beginning of November and had a release ticket signed on November 9. He was received at the detention center the same day he was killed, November 12.
The death toll in the Penitentiary massacre increased to 119, 100 have been identified
Measures taken by the Government
In its report, the commission “welcomes” some of the measures adopted by the Government in the face of the prison crisis. There, it includes carrying out actions aimed at having a population census, application of the figure of pardon, creation of commissions to work on the issue of security, actions implemented by the Technical Directorate of the SNAI in order to strengthen the prison system, and the search for formulas to provide the prison system with institutionality.
Recommendations against situation
The IACHR commission includes a series of recommendations that cover general and structural aspects. Among the main recommendations are:
-The commission highlights the importance of continuing with the investigations initiated with the due diligence required to clarify the facts and determine the pertinent criminal and administrative responsibilities.
-It also advises carrying out actions aimed at recovering full authority in the administration of prison management, such as the maintenance of internal security, and the provision of the basic elements necessary for the life of detainees.
-Establish specific measures in order to prevent, identify and punish acts of corruption in prisons. Adopt measures to combat practices that can encourage spaces of corruption that make life in prison more expensive. In this sense, the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on the entry of food and other essential items should be avoided.
-Effectively prevent the entry of weapons, drugs, alcohol and other substances or objects prohibited by law, through regular searches and inspections, and the use of technological means or other appropriate methods. All entry and control procedures must be standardized and carried out in accordance with international standards on the matter.
-Identify persons deprived of their liberty who must be subject to exceptional restrictive measures on mobility or separation within prisons until control of them is regained.
-It is recommended that violence prevention policies be designed and applied as part of the general framework of comprehensive prison policies. This, so that both the situation of violence and other structural problems in prisons can be addressed together.
-Adopt the judicial, legislative, and administrative measures required to have a comprehensive criminal policy, and consequently, reduce the prison population. As a priority, no detained person should be admitted to the Guayas No. 1 detention center. This is due to overcrowding, high levels of violence and the lack of effective control by the authorities.
-Continue with the application of pardons for extinction and commutation of sentences for minor crimes and without violence, ensuring that the processes are carried out expeditiously through the determination of clear parameters and the elimination of requirements that may be unnecessary.
-Modify Ecuadorian criminal legislation in order to decriminalize or establish penalties that do not imply deprivation of liberty for behaviors that due to their characteristics and impact on society should not be criminalized, such as non-payment of food, traffic infractions, and crimes drug-related minors. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
