UN slams Panama’s subhuman prisons

A United Nations report has found “subhuman” conditions in Panama’s two principal prisons La Joya and La Joyita and the country is five years behind in implementing the national mechanism for the prevention of torture.

The report by the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT)results from a visit to the country in August last year and it calls on the government  to activate the national mechanism of prevention against torture, adapt the criminalization of the crime of torture regulated in the Penal Code so that it is imprescriptible and to reinforce public defense for those deprived of liberty, as well as improving the conditions in the two prisons.

The report was made public last month past, after the endorsement of the Panamanian State, reports La Prensa

It reveals all the observations of the SPT after having visited prisons, police substations, psychiatric institutions and correctional facilities for young people, as well as detention facilities for migrants.

Although the subcommittee recognized that Panama has had a series of legislative advances and institutions in the area of human rights, it received consistent allegations from people deprived of liberty who stated that they had been subjected to torture or ill-treatment in different circumstances.

The report also indicates that in many cases people deprived of liberty were frequently incommunicado.

“The subcommittee expresses its concern about the deficiencies of the public defense that should be granted to persons deprived of liberty. To the systematic question to those deprived of liberty If they received legal assistance from public defenders, the constant response was negative, “the document adds.

Ombudsman Awol
The Subcommittee also noted the limited presence of the Ombudsman’s Office in the  penitentiary centers

With regard to the national mechanism for the prevention of torture, which is responsible for carrying out regular inspections of places of deprivation of liberty, the international organization reiterated that Panama is five years behind in making this entity work.

Part of the report highlighted “unfortunate conditions” in the vast majority of Prisons visited. In La Joya and La Joyita, for example, the subcommittee found several pavilions had a “serious situation of subhuman conditions” of habitability, not only in terms of overcrowding but also in other topics such as humidity, poor ventilation, absolute lack of hygiene and garbage accumulation