Ecuador authorities vow to regain control of prisons amid wave of violence
Ecuadorean authorities vow to regain control of prisons amid wave of violence
Juan Carlos Escobar
3 MIN. DE LECTURA
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (RPP) – Ecuador’s prisons, an essential service, have been the scene of sporadic violence that has been blamed on a lack of basic human rights, especially those of political and religious prisoners. The government has vowed to take back control of prisons in the country, but it has not been able to reach an agreement with the regional and the international community.
The Ecuadoran government on Tuesday said that, “There is a complete recovery of the prisons. The prisons have received the support of the Government of Colombia, which now has the total responsibility for the prisons.”
The government said that “there are 4,200 prisoners who cannot continue their prison terms because they have become victims of torture or were held in prisons without being convicted of any crime.”
The government said that the “credible reports … from the international organizations in regard to the need to stop the torture of political prisoners are being verified, and that the decision has been made in the Ministry of Justice,” in order to “prevent torture, as well as to ensure that the prisoners are afforded the legal guarantees that they are human beings, in accordance with the international standards and laws.”
The government said that a decree authorizing the creation of a “National Council for Human Rights and Reparation in the Prisons,” will be published on the presidential website, in order to “obtain agreement from the international bodies to avoid the prolongation of the present prison conditions, and to guarantee the fundamental rights of the prisoners.”
Juan Carlos Escobar, the justice minister, announced that the action had been approved by the Ministry of Justice, in accordance with the constitution, “and the president has approved this measure to establish a commission of inquiry and the national council for human rights and reparation in the prisons, under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice, the Public Security, the Office of the High Prosecutor, Social Assistance and other relevant agencies, and within the framework of the national government.”
Escobar added that this is “an example of