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FROM
CUBA
Increase in violence worries inmates in
Havana prison
Independent journalist José
Ubaldo Izquierdo, one of the "Group
of 75" journalists and dissidents jailed
in April 2003, is serving a 16-year sentence
in the maximum security prison at Guanajay,
outside of Havana.
GUANAJAY, Cuba - July, 2005 (www.cubanet.org)
- An increase in the level of violence at
Guanajay prison that left four inmates wounded,
two of them seriously, and led to a near
riot June 30, has raised concerns among
inmates for their personal safety.
The disturbance in the afternoon and evening
June 30 in the maximum security prison about
27 miles west of Havana required the presence
of special forces of the police and Interior
Ministry. It took them until after midnight
to regain control of the prison and liberate
the four wounded men who were being held
hostage by the rioters.
The four, all of whom had been stabbed,
were then taken to Guanajay hospital. They
bring the number of wounded at the prison
since June 19 to eight, not counting one
inmate who commited suicide June 24.
The riot started when a number of visibly
drunk inmates blocked the only access door
to No. 6 gallery, which houses about 80
inmates. It wasn't immediately apparent
what sparked the rebellion.
Approximately 30 military guards tried
to control the situation without success,
until the Interior Ministry troops arrived
close to midnight.
The high level and frequency of intoxication
by inmates gives the appearance that prison
authorities either condone the abuse of
alcohol and drugs inside the walls or else
they can't control them.
Versión
original en español
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