18 […] As happens in the area of education, health services are organized to treat the general prison population. For security reasons, gang members are not allowed free access to the prison center; their segregation obviated the need to organize health services for inmates thus segregated. […] The logistics become even more complicated when the inmate needs to go to the hospital for specialized treatment. 31 2. Testimony of Violeta María Discúa: In terms of physical conditions, the infrastructure of the San Pedro Sula Prison was already in deplorable condition and entirely inadequate, but the section for the gang members was even worse. The conditions in the two sections [where the members of Mara 18 and MS-13 are held] were extremely unhygienic. The unpainted cement brick walls were humid and damp; the patio was also dirty. The odor everywhere was terrible. The inmates lived in overcrowded conditions; they went shirtless and shoeless at all times. The area out front is for moving about; from what I could see it is about half the size of a basketball court. This was all the space that the inmates had to move around in. […] […] The segregation and the bad conditions in the sections where gang members are held are reflected in the mood among these inmates, which is, comparatively speaking, more somber and depressed. 32 3. Testimony of Isis Gricelda Perdomo Zelaya: [T]he memories I have of the section where the MS members are held is that they did not participate in the activities that the rest of the inmate population had access to. As I recall, they spoke with us through a door with bars; I saw that they had a structure that was used as a patio, where they received visitors and where they took walks; in the background I could get a glimpse of the sleeping quarters. It was a long, enclosed space. The lighting could not have been natural lighting. Also, there was not enough ventilation. It was apparent that this cellblock did not have playing courts or recreation areas. 33 46. The petitioners also supplied testimony about conditions in Cellblock 19, given by relatives of inmates who died in the fire. Their statements are in agreement on the following points: 34 (a) Cellblock 19 was basically a small concrete structure with no ventilation or natural lighting; (b) due to the overbearing heat and the dampness within the Cellblock the inmates had to have fans; (c) the Cellblock did not have running water, as water was supplied only for a number of hours each day; the water supply was sometimes irregular; (d) the toilets had to be filled using buckets; there were no sinks or showers for the inmates to wash themselves; (e) inmates were not provided with cleaning items, which had to be provided by relatives; (f) the atmosphere in the cellblock was unwholesome and unhealthy, as it was plagued with insects; the conditions were so bad that the inmates would develop skin conditions like fungi; (g) the inmates were not given proper 31 The petitioners’ observations on the merits, dated April 10, 2009. Annex 1. Testimony of Missionary Virginia Alfaro Calvo, a Vincentian lay missionary on the Prison Ministry Team of the Archdiocese of San Pedro Sula. She has been doing ministry work in the San Pedro Sula Prison every day since 1998. 32 The petitioners’ observations on the merits, dated April 10, 2009. Annex 2. Testimony of Violeta María Discúa. From 2000 to 2004 she worked as a journalist for the Catholic weekly FIDES and, in her activities, regularly covered events that members of the Prison Ministry were conducting at the San Pedro Sula Prison. 33 The petitioners’ observations on the merits, dated April 10, 2009. Annex 5. Testimony of Isis Gricelda Perdomo Zelaya. Member of the Prison Ministry working in the legal aid area. 34 The petitioners’ observations on the merits, dated April 10, 2009. Annex 20. CD with the record of the domestic court proceedings in the case and testimony. Recordings of the interviews done with: Abencio Reyes, Doris Esperanza Paz, Aida Rodríguez, María de Estrada, Olga Marina Santos, Marlen Santos, Marta Elena Suazo, María Cristina Cruz, Manuel Armando Fuentes and Brenda Elena Leyva.