The lack of an ombudsman in the Panamanian prison to defend human rights is dangerous, without.....

an ombudsman the state can, and will torture prisoners and the police will get away with crimes against humanity

Although the subcommittee recognised that Panama has had a series of legislative advances and institutions in the area of human rights, it received consistent allegations from people deprived of liberty who stated that they had been subjected to torture or ill-treatment in different circumstances.

The report also indicates that in many cases people deprived of liberty were frequently incommunicado.

“The subcommittee expresses its concern about the deficiencies of the public defence that should be granted to persons deprived of liberty. To the systematic question to those deprived of liberty if they received legal assistance from public defenders, the constant response was negative, “the document adds.

Ombudsman

The Subcommittee also noted the limited presence of the Ombudsman’s Office in the penitentiary centres with regard to the national mechanism for the prevention of torture, which is responsible for carrying out regular inspections of places of deprivation of liberty, the international organization reiterated that Panama is five years behind in making this entity work.

Part of the report highlighted “unfortunate conditions” in the vast majority of Prisons visited. In La Joya and La Joyita, for example, the subcommittee found several pavilions had a “serious situation of subhuman conditions” of habitability, not only in terms of overcrowding but also in other topics such as humidity, poor ventilation, and absolute lack of hygiene and garbage accumulation.

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