Prison brawl death – visits suspended

A BRAWL during the week that left one dead and two injured, at Panama’s notorious La Joya prison was followed by the suspension of visits for all prisoners regardless of which block they were confined in, which in turn  led to a demonstration at the prison gates.

A group of relatives who attended Friday’s regular visit, obstructed the main entrance of the prison with stones, bags of food and clothes.
Lidia Pesero mother of two detainees Flag, said she had traveled from Capira, but her husband could not see his children. And he would now be another month without contact with his family.
Lydia Johnson, another of the protesters, alleged that inmates blocks 13 and 17 were not involved in the violence that took place on Thursday but had been abused. “Agents of the National Police came in the early morning when they had not had breakfast and threw tear gas at them from the patio. in the early morning from the patio and threw tear gas at them as they had not had breakfast,” she said.
The national director of SPN, Gabriel Finch, said the suspension of the visits gave security measure after the violence on Thursday’s violence that erupted during surprise searches,
He said the searches will continue in all prisons in the country.