Uruguay: Scandal over inmate who denounced torture and sexual abuse in Montevideo jail

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Uruguayan journalist Gabriel Pereyra used Twitter to report the case of an inmate who claims to have been tortured and sexually abused for 40 days in the Santiago Vázquez prison in Montevideo.

According to a thread on the social network, a 28-year-old man was kidnapped for 40 days by 5 prisoners, who held him captive and beat him with a nail board.

He was not fed and as a result of the constant beatings, he has a dislocated hip. It was not known at the time if there was a court investigation, but now the Uruguayan Ministry of the Interior is following the case.

The Santiago Vázquez prison in Montevideo, better known as “Comcar”, houses 750 inmates and has now gone viral because of the denunciation. In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said that it was advised of the “health condition of a 28-year-old inmate,” who was transferred to the infirmary and diagnosed with malnutrition.

According to their first investigations, it was determined that the victim had been “tortured and mistreated by one or more cellmates for several days.”

In addition, the body stated that it had no knowledge of this situation, despite the fact that police officers make weekly visits to check the condition of cells. The Ministry of the Interior stated that the man’s condition was only known because he was in a cell with other inmates.

The case was brought before the Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry has pledged to conduct an internal investigation.

Parliamentary Commissioner Juan Miguel Petit lodged a criminal complaint alleging multiple crimes, such as private violence, rape and deprivation of liberty. He also pointed out that the victim suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, so he will work with Minister of the Interior Luis Alberto Heber, the Prosecutor’s Office and other deputies to improve these conditions.