Former inmate to be paid over $55K for inhumane prison conditions .

[Judi Lynn]

Former inmate to be paid over $55K for inhumane prison conditions .
Wednesday, 10 October 2012 11:10 Caitlin Trent



The Colombian prison institute was ordered to award a former inmate approximately $55,000 to compensate for inhumane conditions while he was imprisoned.

William Alberto Molina allegedly endured such inhumane conditions while he was held for three years in Medellin's prison, Bellavista, that a court ordered that he would receive the equivalent of 175 minimum monthly salaries from the National Prison Institute (INPEC), Santa Fe Radio reported Tuesday.

~snip~

This is not the first time that Colombia has been criticized for its current prison system. In September multicultural newspaper The Prisma reported that Colombia's prisoners were subjected to more than just overcrowding but also extreme violence and disease. The newspaper allegedly obtained information from a Colombian human rights lawyer and the Legal Brigade Foundation (FBJEUM) who promote the rights of prisoners.

According to the article, prisoners "leave behind their dignity" when they enter the prison, allegedly enduring broken glass in food, being thrown out of windows and other forms of violence while incarcerated. The Prisma claimed that abuse is so severe that it sometimes "results in death or suicide" for prisoners.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/26441-former-inmate-to-be-paid-over-55k-for-inhumane-prison-conditions.html

[sabrina 1]

1. Excellent. It's amazing how little we read in the Western media about the atrocities in Colombia

as they spend their time smearing other Latin American nations whose people have elected left leaning governments.

But it is good to see since Uribe is gone that something is being done to right some of the wrongs that have been rampant in that country for so long.

I hope eventually Colombia will join the rest of the region and become independent of outside influences and the Right Wing elements that have been so detrimental to human beings in that part of the world.

[joshcryer]

2. I wonder when Venezuela will recompense their prisoners for human rights abuses?