Director of Venezuela ‘torture’ prison fired after riot

BARINAS: An uprising of prisoners alleging torture continued Monday at a Venezuelan penitentiary, despite the firing of the prison director accused of ordering the abuse.

Hundreds of inmates chanting “No more torture” took control of Barinas Judicial Detention Centre, a centre for common-law prisoners, in western Venezuela on Sunday.

They also burned mattresses and sheets.

On Monday, a group of prisoners remained huddled on the roof as mediators attempted to talk them down.

Dozens of inmates were bussed out to other facilities, including more than 100 women, according to Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP), a human rights NGO.

Maria Eugenia Duran, 48, the wife of a man who has spent four years behind bars, said the prisoners rebelled after being “tortured and beaten”.

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Prison director Elvis Macuare Guerrero, who was only in the job a week, was dismissed over the unrest, an official confirmed to AFP.

The OVP said despite his short term, he implemented a regime of terror, including beatings, torture and “violent searches”, during which prisoners’ belongings were destroyed in their cells.

For years, activists have criticised overcrowding, limited food and a lack of medical care in Venezuelan prisons, alongside what they allege are systematic human rights violations.

In April, the government confirmed the deaths of five people during a riot at the high-security Yare III prison near Caracas.

Venezuela has released hundreds of political detainees since US forces captured autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro in a stunning raid on the capital Caracas on Jan 3.

The landmark amnesty law, which was adopted in February, is one of the most significant reforms passed by Maduro’s interim successor Delcy Rodriguez, under pressure from Washington.

Some Venezuelans have however expressed frustration at the pace of the releases.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

المصدر: New Straits Times