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were clearly subhuman; the infrastructure was completely inadequate [and]
unhealthy for the inmate population; this posed an immediate threat to the
inmates.”
The Center was managed in very disorganized fashion. It had no system for filing
the records on the adolescents. The procedures followed in situations in which their
lives were in peril were not what they should have been. The staff did not have the
training needed to ensure the inmates’ safety and prevent violation of juvenile
offenders’ rights. “Without exaggerating […] I would have to describe what went on
as a civil war; there was constant internal conflict among the inmates themselves
and between the inmates and the authorities, specifically the guards.” Her group
came to the Center knowing that their lives were in danger and accepting that risk.
Had it not been for the fire, the Center would still be operating today. The closing of
the Center was necessary. However, because it was a forced closing, it did not
trigger major changes in the living conditions of incarcerated juveniles in Paraguay.
Itauguá is much better and is fit for the population, but the same problems persist in
the Director’s Office and living conditions are not very different from what they were
at Panchito López.
The changes in the law are most welcome. However, there are no mechanisms by
which to implement these new laws. Implementation will be a slow process because
of resistance on the part of some judges who do not approve of the alternative
measures.
m)
Testimony of María Vilma Talavera de Bogado, official with the
Ministry of Education and Culture
The Youth and Adult Education Center No. 118 was located in the ‘Panchito López’
Center. It was staffed with three teachers from the Ministry of Justice and Labor.
The witness does not know how the education center operated inside ‘Panchito
López’ because she only had access to the information on the school’s operation after
it was moved to the Itauguá Education Center.
n)
Testimony of María Elizabeth Flores Negri, researcher
Based on the different investigations she has done on prison life at the
Comprehensive Education Center, the situation has evolved from one of “complete
indolence and disinterest on the part of the system for the administration of justice
[…] to a system that is increasingly more attentive” to the inmates’ procedural
guarantees and living conditions.
She was first acquainted with the ‘Panchito López’ Center when it was in the city of
Emboscada. Then it was an old building, damp, with hygienic problems. It was
totally unsuited for housing adult inmates, much less juveniles.
When the Center moved to Asunción, it drew more attention because of the constant
complaints made by inmates and other interested institutions. The latter found it
much easier to observe the Center once it was in Asunción because it was more
accessible and closer. The increase in visits by defense attorneys and relatives was
immediate and striking. However, living conditions did not change much, since the
inadequacy of its infrastructure was obvious; the facility was much smaller and had
much less space than it did before.
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