-2-
c)
from January 2005 to date, there have apparently been various violent
incidents at the Yare Prison, with 59 violent deaths by firearm, stabbing,
hanging and decapitation, as well as no less than 67 people seriously injured.
The latest violent death at the penitentiary took place on February 28, 2006,
and the latest violent incident, as a result of which one inmate was injured,
happened on March 15, 2006;
d)
the Yare Prison is divided into two wings referred to as Yare I and Yare
II. Yare I was built for a population of 750 inmates, and currently houses 507
convicted offenders and 13 accused. Yare II, prepared to house 680 inmates,
currently holds 158 accused and 1 convicted offender;
e)
the authorities have carried out several inspections at the Yare Prison,
confiscating a number of weapons and grenades. Some officers were allegedly
involved in the trafficking of weapons at said correctional facility;
f)
the inmates at Yare I and Yare II are supervised by 15 and 8 guards,
respectively, who work in 24-hour shifts. Given the control exerted by certain
groups of inmates over the access ways to certain wards of the facility, the
guards refrain from regularly entering such wards and when they do enter,
they do so in the company of National Guard officers, and the inmates do not
wander into other areas of the facility because of their fear of being physically
assaulted;
g)
the inmates are living in unacceptable conditions that create further or
aggravate the existing tension, and without the required security and control
measures;
h)
there have been allegations of mistreatment and physical punishment
of the inmates by the guards;
i)
on November 19, 2004, the National Assembly requested the
Executive Branch to declare a “correctional emergency;”
j)
through Executive Order No. 3.265 of November 23, 2004, the
President of Venezuela created the Presidential Commission on the
Correctional Emergency, in order to:
i) evaluate confinement centers and the related support services
regarding infrastructure, staffing, and the provision of services to
inmates;
ii) propose and recommend the guidelines, plans and strategies to
successfully deal with the different problems affecting confinement
facilities;
iii) recommend action through which the Judiciary may guarantee the
right to speedy action in judicial proceedings and provide the inmates
with access to alternative means to serve their sentences; and
iv) propose and recommend measures aimed at guaranteeing the
enjoyment and exercise of the inmates’ human rights throughout their
stay at correctional facilities; and
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents