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The Ombudsman’s Office has requested an explanation from the Ministry of Justice and Peace regarding plans to install lightweight tent-type prisons in the country’s prison centres.
The Ombudsman’s Office requested information from the executive on whether it had consulted with other countries to obtain information on how prisons are built and operated, with tents being used to house people deprived of their liberty.
The entity requested a list of countries that had been approached to gather experience in this regard, whether prisons had been visited, details of which prisons and their results, and indication of good practices adopted by the Ministry in protecting the rights of persons deprived of their liberty. What was observed after approaching such constructions or projects went beyond strict budgetary issues.
In addition, specific information was requested on whether the Ministry of Justice and Peace considered using tents to build prisons within its institutional portfolio of construction projects.
In a reply to the Ombudsman’s Office, the Minister of Justice and Peace clarified that the correct name is “light construction” for the country’s prison centre and said the project is at the stage of study, analysis and search for options, with the aim of reaching a decision that is in the interest of the national prison system and respects human rights.
He added that when this ministerial responsibility is clear and defines the feasibility of the project, and there are stricter specifications, they will be able to inform the Ombudsman’s office and respond to any issues that may exist.
Based on this information, the Office of the Ombudsman proceeded to intervene ex officiobecause, according to him, it is “a situation of particular interest aimed at guaranteeing the effective and full enjoyment of fundamental rights by a population deprived of their liberty and, above all, considering that the construction of a prison center has international standards “that must be respected by the Prison Administration”.
“The reality in prisons shows that there are countless factors that can have a negative impact on the provision of services to the aforementioned population. Deprivation of liberty is a condition resulting from a judicial procedure through which legal consequences arise and which implies the loss of liberty of a person for a specific period. This condition does not imply the suspension of guarantees or other rights of persons in the aforementioned situation,” the Ombudsman’s office said in a statement.
On Thursday, it was revealed that the government had submitted to Congress a budget of more than £2.684 billion for lightweight tent-style prisons, just two days after Justice Minister Gerald Campos admitted that they had not yet conducted a technical study or made a final decision on using tents or solutions to house prisoners rather than building concrete or concrete works.
National Liberation Party (PLN) deputy Francisco Nicolas has prepared a motion asking the Public Revenue and Expenditure Control Committee to open an investigation file.
The motion states: “It is requested that within a period of six months (which may be extended once for an additional period of the same by order of this Commission), a thorough investigation be conducted into everything related to the contract and possible irregularities in the acquisition and use of tents in the construction of prisons in the country.”
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