10
has decreased “because the population is afraid of going to the areas where such
activities are carried out, since their lives are in danger";
k)
For the last 15 years, "Venezuela has had
Prison Studies [Instituto Universitario Nacional
which] more than 900 people have graduated in
treatment and management; and not even 5 per
is working in prisons”;
the National University Institute of
de Estudios Penitenciarios] [from
the field of security, management,
cent of such Venezuelan personnel
l)
“[t]he prison population is requiring the respect for the procedural time limits,
the granting of procedural benefits; the granting of [a]lternative [m]ethods of
[c]ompliance with [s]entences[,] and the services of psychosocial evaluations";
m)
As to the government attorney’s offices with jurisdiction in matters of Prisons,
“they emphasiz[ed] that, despite the efforts made for their creation, the
rehabilitation of the former inmate and the respect of his human rights is not being
guaranteed". Furthermore, they noted with appreciation the creation of the National
Commission on Pardons, as well as the implementation of the program “Community
for Human Rights” [Haciendo Comunidad para los Derechos Humanos];
n)
Up to date, the access of the representatives to the prison premises have
been conditional "upon the prior ‘express authorization’ granted by the Department
for Custody and Rehabilitation of the Inmate", and
o)
“we are facing a situation of extreme gravity and urgency and, unless the
measures are maintained in force, irreparable damage will be caused on the people
deprived of liberty in Venezuela". Hence, they indicated that the adoption of
provisional measures “has, in some way, influenced in order for the Venezuelan
State to provide […] special or additional care in comparison to the one that it was
being provided to prisons”.
13.
That, in this regard, the Commission noted, inter alia, that:
a)
“from the information forwarded, it does not spring that the State has taken
any specific or immediate action in order to avoid, in an effective and final way,
violence in [the penitentiary centers], so that no inmate or any other person at [said
centers] is killed or his personal integrity impaired". The Commission noted that
“during the enforcement of the measures, several inmates have died as the result of
violent incidents, others have been seriously injured; there have been famine strikes,
fleeing [and] reports on ill-treatment on the part of the custody guards, especially
during the searches and other serious incidents". “[T]his situation of violence shown
in the official statistics [furnished by the State] is the main indicator of the need to
maintain these provisional measures in force”. According to the Commission, the
good will of the State and the measures taken to bring about changes have been
“insufficient to overcome the high level of violence in the prisons", since the "official
statistics [...] prove that the measures are not adequate [nor] effective to overcome
the situation of extreme gravity [and] urgency and to avoid irreparable damage to
inmates and any other people". Furthermore, the Commission indicated that the
State “has not managed to recover the internal control of these prisons”;
b)
There is lack of information on the part of the State in relation to more
structural problems that allow the restructuring of the prison population after the