Twenty-three torture cases identified in Bolivia prisons

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least 23 cases of torture within Bolivian prisons have been identified between May and October by the Service for the Prevention of Torture (SEPRET), according to its executive director Nadesda Guevara.

The latest case is related to the death of Chonchocoro inmate Christopher Condori, who died on October 19 from injuries to his head and body.

“Since May we have identified 23 cases of torture and we have denounced them before the relevant bodies. Based on our investigation, we have also identified several irregularities in Bolivia’s prisons,” Guevara said in an interview with local media.

According to Guevara, the existence of a “Torture Bus” was detected in the Chonchocoro prison, in addition to other “spaces” that serve as punishment sites for inmates and “the bus was one more of these spaces.”

“We had denounced it in June this year, and we have done it permanently with reports, but we have also requested the relevant institutions such as the Penitentiary Regime to intervene (…) we have reported 23 torture cases from May to date to the Prosecutor’s Office,” she said.

According to Guevara, torture is applied by public servants who either commit it in the first person or are permissive to such events. “Public servants are the only people responsible for these acts.”

“We have 23 open cases before the Prosecutor’s Office, among them the latest case that occurred in Chonchocoro,” Guevara explained in reference to Condori’s death, for which at least 4 police officers were removed from their duties, among them the director of Chonchocoro.

Condori was serving a 3-year sentence for aggravated robbery and was due to be released last week, but died in one of Chonchocoro’s cells. His family denounced that the inmate had been threatened.