18 penalties for the less serious offenses. Until there is sweeping, in-depth reform of the prison laws, inmates will continue to be incarcerated in subhuman conditions, without knowing their sentences. The result will, as a rule, continue to be the same: i.e., they will be unable to re-adapt to society because they do not have the psychological help to survive what they have had to endure. It is difficult to know how long, on average, the juveniles were incarcerated, because there are no figures or records in prisons in general, much less at the Juvenile Reeducation Institute in question. e) Expert testimony of Carlos Arestivo, psychologist Since 1996 the witness has been a member of the Tekojojá Foundation’s Street School Group and of the AMAR project (Asistencia a Menores de Alto Riesgo – Assistance to High-Risk Juveniles). This brought him in constant contact with the socalled “street children” and, by extension, with the detention facilities. The Center was built as a home for some 15 or 20 people, yet close to 150 juveniles were incarcerated there. The cells were five meters by five meters, each housing some 50 minors. The temperature in the summer was not less than 40 degrees Centigrade and the cells had only one ceiling fan. The inmates had at most two hours of recreation in the patio of the house, which was also overcrowded since it, too, was not very large. The Center’s nauseous odor was unbearable. The kitchen was located across from the public lavatories. The food was not fit for human consumption as it was prepared on the kitchen floor. Anyone forced to endure this kind of incarceration would suffer psychological consequences. In the case of these children, from the moment they were arrested, they were tortured by the police; the lucky ones are “simply mistreated.” The inmates’ first psychological symptoms surfaced when they were in the hospital and were suffering acute anxiety and insomnia, triggered by the slightest hint of something that might be related to that experience. These juveniles were also diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. At no time were these juveniles given any psychiatric or psychological care; on the contrary, the mistreatment continued and some were transferred to two adult prisons: the Tacumbú Penitentiary and the Emboscada Prison. The latter is a maximum security prison where the most dangerous criminals are generally housed. Some of the inmates asked to be in a security cell to avoid being sexually assaulted or abused. The most significant after-effects of the fire and the previous and subsequent violations of their rights are the following: their self-esteem is reduced to almost nothing; they become aggressive as a defense mechanism; they worry over the uncertainty of their lot as individuals, about their present and their future; they experience frequent depression; they have difficulty sleeping; they have nightmares; they are afraid; they are fearful that once released, they will have no one and will not have the chance to make an honest living. These are the reasons why they will almost invariably turn to crime again and end up in prison again. These young people are affected both psychologically and socially. Despite everything, they have hopes of changing and believe they can be useful members of society and help others. In 2001, an unbearable heat made the habitual overcrowding all the more difficult to tolerate. When they could no longer bear that dreadful situation, the inmates