"miniscule" bathroom that does not work, with strong odors and windows with
broken glass and bars); she was denied food and medicine for two days; she is not
provided with basic nutritious food; and she does not have access to sunlight, among
other things. They highlighted that Ms. Afiuni’s situation is one of increasing
isolation, as she does not have "access to the prison authorities" or the chance to
interact with guard personnel or the rest of the prison population. With regard to
access to visitation, they indicated that doctors, priests, and representatives of
international organizations cannot enter her cell. They also stated that neither are
all of the attorneys who she has informed the authorities form her legal defense
team permitted to enter, and that the State has not given any explanation for this.
They additionally reported that, in contrast to the other inmates of the INOF, a
registry is kept of all the individuals who visit Ms. Afiuni;
q) In the last two months, Ms. Afiuni has been subjected to new restrictions in her
status as an accused individual based on the regulations governing the Penitentiary
System. According to these restrictions, any activity that she does must be approved
by the Conduct Committee, "from cutting her hair to requesting a painkiller." They
allege that almost none of her requests have received a response;
r) A number of international bodies have commented on Judge Afiuni’s situation including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the European Parliament, the
Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges, the Special Rapporteur on the
Situation of Human Rights Defenders - and requested information from the State on
her situation. That request has not been answered;
s) In their final communications with the Commission, dated November 5 and 23,
2010, the petitioners reiterated the aforementioned and added, inter alia, that:
As context, “three INOF inmates have died in that penitentiary in recent
months due to lack of prompt medical attention;”
Access to attorneys has been limited in a discriminatory manner;
“In September of 2010, a member of the World Organization against Torture,
from Geneva, tried to visit the judge to learn about the status of her detention,
but the visit was denied;"
“Judge Afiuni’s daughter has been subjected to humiliation at the hands of
prison officials;"
On November 8, 2010, Judge Afiuni file a complaint against the director of the
INOF for abuses against those detained or sentenced and for failure to provide
help;
After November 14, 2010, when Ms. Afiuni gave statements to a national
media outlet, there were new threats against her personal safety in the prison.
Regarding this, her attorney has stated that certain inmates have said to the
judge that "her private parts were to be searched every half an hour […] and
they shouted at her […] that they would turn the entire prison population against
her;"
On November 22, 2010, when the judge was transferred to the Padre
Machado Hospital, “under the national standards for oncological diagnosis and
treatment, [she suffered] abuses and violations of the confidential doctor-patient
relationship [by INOF guards and National Guard officials], upon their being
present during the examinations and preventing the examinations from being
completed;”
The judge's attorneys are still waiting for access to the case file;