-3-
b)
Mr. Rodríguez-Lara “cannot leave the cellblock in [which] he is housed,
[…] he is confined 24 hours a day[, and does not] have access to any work,
educational or recreational activity,” and
c)
none of them receive direct sunlight during the day, “[t]he ventilation in
[their] cells is inadequate and overcrowding is a constant problem.”
Based on the foregoing, the representatives requested the Court, inter alia, to order
the State to “adopt such measures as may be necessary for the beneficiaries to be
held under decent prison conditions, in accordance with international standards,” and
to "allow audiovisual material as evidence of the current prison conditions facing the
beneficiaries.”
7.
The brief of the State of November 30, 2006, stating, inter alia, that:
a)
the Corte Suprema de Justicia (Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice)
rendered a decision on February 15, 2005, ordering “the temporary stay of
execution of the death sentences imposed on the beneficiaries;
b)
on October 5, 2006, the “Ley del Régimen Penitenciario” (Prison System
Law) was enacted and, on November 28, 2006, the “Reglamento Interno de las
Granjas Modelo de Rehabilitación y Cumplimiento de Condenas a Cargo de la
Dirección General del Sistema Penitenciario” (Internal Rules of the Model Farms
for Rehabilitation and Service of Sentence under the Prison System General
Office) were adopted for the purpose of enhancing prison conditions;
c)
Mr. Rodríguez-Lara has suffered from common diseases, such as fever
and the flu and from stress. He was examined by “the center’s nurse on duty”
and received treatment. “[H]e has a good relationship with his fellow inmates
as well as with the prison staff;”
d)
Mr. Ruiz-Almengor is “in good health[,] he only suffers from stress and
mild anxiety due to confinement. He is held in a solitary confinement room of
approximately 1.5 meters wide by 5 meters long in sector 11 and […] has a
small yard. He spends the day in that yard and, at night, he stays in the solitary
confinement room,” and
e)
“the State does not object to maintaining” the provisional measures
ordered in favor of the beneficiaries.
8.
The communication of the Commission of December 14, 2006, whereby, after
having been granted an extension, the Commission submitted its comments on the
State report (supra Having Seen clause No. 5). In that regard, the Commission
reiterated its position “on the importance for the courts of criminal sentence execution
in charge of the execution of [Messrs.] Rodríguez-Lara and Ruiz-Almengor’s sentences
to adopt provisional measures by means of court orders so as to ensure full compliance
with the provisional measures ordered by the Court.” In relation to prison conditions,
the Commission stated that “the State itself indicates that prison conditions are poor
and that there is overcrowding and lack of basic furnishings, such as beds for the
beneficiaries.”
9.
The communication of the representatives of December 13, 2006, whereby they
submitted their comments on the last report filed by the State (supra Having Seen
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