that the military hospital was the appropriate one for performing medical exams. On
July 23, 2010, she was examined, and a mammography determined “the presence of
two lumps.” The military hospital took over a month to forward the result to the
court, and as of the time of the filing of the request for provisional measures, she
had not received treatment from a doctor. This was also the case other times she got
sick, for example with cystitis and allergies;
p) According to the petitioners, Ms. Afiuni is being held in a “maximum security” cell
that lacks the minimum sanitary conditions; she has been denied access to a cell
that complies with the minimum safety and hygiene requirements (her cell measures
two by four meters, has a “tiny” bathroom facility that does not work, with strong
odors and windows with broken glass and bars); she was denied food and medication
for two days; is not provided with the basic food for her nutrition; and she does not
have access to sunlight, among other issues. They emphasized that Judge Afiuni is
increasingly isolated, as she has no “access to the prison authorities” and has no way
to interact with guards or the rest of the inmate population. Regarding visits, they
indicated that doctors, priests and international organizations are not allowed access
to her cell. They also expressed that not even the attorneys who she has reported to
the authorities as part of her defense counsel are allowed to enter, and the State has
not given any explanations in this regard. In addition, they reported that unlike with
other inmates at the INOF, a record is kept of all persons that visit Ms. Afiuni;
q) During the last two months and based on prison system regulations, Judge Afiuni
was subjected to a new restriction in her status as a person awaiting trial. Based on
this status, any activity that she performs must be approved by the Junta de
Conducta (Board of Conduct), “from cutting her hair to requesting a painkiller.” They
added that almost all of her requests remain unanswered;
r) A number of international organizations, namely the Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention, the European Parliament, the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of
Judges and the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders have
issued statements regarding Judge Afiuni’s situation, and have requested information
on her situation from the State. The requests have not been answered;
s) In their latest communications to the Commission dated November 5 and 23,
2010, the petitioners reiterated what they had previously expressed, and added,
inter alia, that:
As context, “in recent months, three inmates at the INOF have died there due
to lack of timely medical attention;”
Access to her attorneys has been limited in a discriminatory manner;
The Judge’s attorney filed several requests for her to receive treatment from
her trusted doctor. On July 7 and 8, 2010, the judge in charge responded that
the Military Hospital had the capacity to perform oncological exams and that
“prisoners must be examined by State institutions.” On July 20, 2010, Judge
Afiuni’s attorney requested her transfer to a specialized medical center. The
request was turned down the following day. It was repeated on August 31,
October 8 and November 3, 2010, with no response;
On September 8, 2010 Ms. Afiuni filed a complaint for “lack of a decision”
regarding her urgent request to be transferred to a medical center. On November
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