Two Articles on Venezuelan Prisons
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Luisa Estela Morales, President Supreme Court of Justice |
The President of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), Luisa Estela Morales, said on Tuesday that 4,000 humanitarian releases have been granted to inmates in prisons of the country since June.
During a televised interview, Morales explained that the measures have been granted to those who have completed two thirds of their sentence, people with disabilities and severe health conditions, among others.
“After several discussions about the real state of the penitentiary issue, the Supreme Court of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General have agreed to take measures considering the constitutional principle of the right to be judged in freedom,” she said.
The process consists of appointing a forensic doctor to conduct a medical exam and determine whether the person really has a serious or terminal condition that necessitates humanitarian release, said Morales. The humanitarian measure of conditional freedom is established under article 502 of the Criminal Code, which states “conditional freedom can be granted in cases in which the convict has a serious or terminal condition, previously diagnosed by a specialist and properly certified by a forensic doctor.”
Source: Ven Global News
Prison reform: Venezuelan authorities working to remedy judicial delays
During the interview, the minister mentioned the nearly $7 million allocated on January 8 by President Hugo Chavez to help the ministry develop three projects to benefit inmates, their family members, and the ministry.
The funding includes $1.1 million for the renovation of a building in Ciudad Guri in the state of Bolivar to be used as a rehabilitation center for inmates, $2.3 million for the development of an agro-productive center in Guárico state, and $3.4 million for new meeting place at the La Trampa complex in Táchira state.
According to Varela, the 7,000 staff members employed by the penitentiary services will also benefit from new training facilities as part of the last project, which is also expected to create jobs for the local community.
On Wednesday, officials in Venezuela’s Ministry of Penitentiary Services will begin visiting eight penitentiary complexes around the country to make direct contact with inmates and ensure that they are receiving the legal benefits that correspond to them under the law.
The news came from the minister of penitentiary services, Iris Varela, who said in a televised interview that the deployment begins Wednesday and ends on January 18, and will cover all of the country’s 57 penitentiary facilities.
Representatives of the Ministry of Penitentiary Services will Prison reform: Venezuelan authorities working to remedy judicial delays be joined by attorneys, judges, court officials, and the staff of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Ombudsman, Valera said, adding,
“We will be responding to the entire population of the country’s penitentiary centers”.
About 40,000 inmates will receive personal assistance through this initiative, which will analyze individual cases and offer benefits to those who need them.
Media Sabotage
The minister of penitentiary services denounced a plan by some media outlets to spread alarmist reports about prison conditions in order to sabotage efforts being made the Venezuelan government.
Valera acknowledged that problems persist in the Venezuelan prison system that cannot be solved immediately, however, she emphasized the ongoing efforts by her office.
These media people have no accurate information at all about what is going on in the prisons. They know people there and they claim to have information”, she said, mentioning one reporter who recently said he has a brother in the Uribana prison.
“Of course there’s a plan to disrupt and sabotage our prison reforms, but it won’t work. They’re making fools of themselves and are even rejected by the inmates, who really want their legal situation to be solved”.
Source: VTV and Correo del Orinoco