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change. This in turn would ensure a planned undertaking to achieve the desired
success.
j)
Testimony of Estanislao Balbuena Jara, prison guard at the Center
The witness has worked as a prison guard for the Ministry of Justice and Labor since
1991. He continues to work with juvenile offenders and has never mistreated an
inmate. A complaint was once lodged against him alleging torture and mistreatment
on his part, but in the trial it was proved that “the charge was false.”
He worked in the administrative offices, at the entrance to the establishment. He
was not a guard inside the Center and did not have contact with the inmates. He
worked a 24-hour shift, then had 48 hours off.
At the time of the February 2000 fire, he was on vacation, but he witnessed the 2001
fire. The inmates rioted because they wanted to be transferred to the Itaguá
Education Center and thought their transfer would be hastened by rioting. The
inmates set fire to the ceiling with mattress stuffing. No one was injured or burned,
but they did destroy such things as the gates to their cellblock, the computer rooms,
the school and the medications in the dispensary. When the firefighters arrived the
situation was already under control.
k)
Testimony of Ana María de Jesús Llanes Ferreira, magistrate
The witness is a judge with the Court for Enforcement of Judgments, which began
operating in February 2001. The functions of this particular court are set forth in the
penal code and the code of criminal procedure, and in the Constitution, which
provides that the purpose of sentences is rehabilitation of the convicted person and
protection of society.
As a judge for enforcement of criminal judgments, she was present when the July
25, 2001 riot at the Center happened; she assisted the inmates and ordered
transfers to facilities where they could receive medical attention and to other centers
of confinement. Transfers were also ordered to prison facilities in the interior and
even to Emboscada prison, while other centers better suited to house the juvenile
inmates being transferred were reorganized. Her decision to order juvenile inmates
transferred to adult prisons was because at the time there was no other center of
confinement that had the infrastructure needed to accommodate the minors.
However the situation of those inmates has been monitored. The witness made her
visits in the company of forensic physicians, psychologists and social workers. The
transfer was the proper measure and the State had an obligation to do it.
Before the riot occurred, inmates were being transferred to the Itauguá Education
Center. They were selected on the basis of behavior. The program carried out was
based on a list of 40 inmates who could be transferred. It was suggested that the
inmates be classified into those who had been convicted and those who were
standing trial or whose trials were pending; another factor considered would be the
type of crime. Under the plan, inmates suffering from some illness or requiring a
certain type of treatment were to be sent to the proper place. Also, more and better
trained prison guards were needed, as were mental health professionals,
psychologists and social workers, since the staff at “the penal facility” is inadequate.