2023-12-16 03:15:00
-How many people are deprived of their liberty in police stations in the Neuquén area?
Deputy Commissioner Ricardo Olguín, head of the Coordination of Processed Detainees division, hardly even had to consult his notes to respond.
-Have 96 arrestedof which 66 are prosecuted, one arrested by the Family Court, and 29 convicted.
-And how many places are there? Space for how many people?
-Hay 72. There are 64 if we count those that have a platform. There are police stations that do not have a platform and the detainee sleeps on the floor with his mattress.
-And how many people sleep on the floor?
–The difference between 72 and 64 -Deputy Commissioner Olguín responded.
The dialogue occurred during a habeas corpus hearing held this Friday in Neuquén, in which The serious prison emergency in the province was exposed once again.
The conditions of the “mailbox”
The Guarantee Judge Gustavo Ravizzoli ordered that a man He has been housed for three months in a cell measuring two by four meters, without a “floor”, a bathroom, or a latrine.designed to be occupied only temporarily, begin serving house arrest.
He also ordered that that cell, known in slang with the clear nickname of “mailbox” and called in technical language “contraventors area”, be closed for at least 30 days.
At the habeas corpus hearing, the public defenders argued about the critical situation Veronica Zingoni and Solange Del Ponte. The prosecutor Horacio Maitini and the legal assistant Gaston Berenguer They admitted that the situation is bad, but they opposed the defendant obtaining house arrest.
Laziness, disinterest and the nonexistence of a prison policy They have costs for the province of Neuquén. Now the Third Police Station must assign personnel for permanent custody of the address where the detainee will be housed, at least until an electronic anklet is obtained. They are police officers are removed from prevention or research tasks because it was not invested in the prison system in time.
Worsening of detention conditions
Defenders Zingoni and Del Ponte pointed out that there was a worsening of detention conditions of the accused. Besides, has leukemia and it has been a long time since he has undergone check-ups or taken cancer medication, because he is locked in a mailbox.
Last November 17, Judge Ravizzoli ordered that he be relocated to another unit. The directive was not followed.
Deputy Commissioner Olguín explained that the detained person have coexistence problems with other inmates. She spent a few days in a more habitable cell, but they threw buckets of hot water and bleach at her. For “protect its integrity” (so he said), they locked him in a suffocating space measuring two meters by four.
Who manages transfers and quotas?
Defender Zingoni observed, in a critical tone: “Threats by people deprived of their liberty to others They are the ones that manage vacancies, transfers and quotas for defendants.and the court order does not prevail.
According to the figures he provided, “in the police station wardens There is space for 72 people and 161 are accommodated. There are 89 people above what is allowed. “Overpopulation is 123.6%.”
He highlighted that “during a year and a half there were only two convicts referred to police stations. In the last two months, 30″ entered.
“Those conditions are not worthy”
The closure of the detention units, equally collapsed, spills over to the police stations. The defender showed photos of the place where the detainee is housed. «Those conditions that I just saw are not worthy»said Judge Ravizzoli.
The magistrate said that “a person cannot wait for trial anywhere. “None of us are capable of staying in those conditions for how long.”.
He added that “the authorities must take acknowledgment of receipt and exert all efforts so that these circumstances have a substantial modification.
Ravizzoli ordered the house arrest of the accused, with permanent police custody for at least five days, until it is resolved whether an ankle brace is placed.
He also arranged closing the mailbox for 30 daysor until there are improvements.
What the Constitution says
The judge reflected: “One may say: ‘if this person committed a crime, I don’t care what condition he is in.’ There is an error there, something is stated that is not. “Any of us have to be in decent conditions according to the law and the Constitution.”.
He cited article 71 of the Provincial Constitution, rarely taken into account, and which is very clear: “Any measure that, under the pretext of precaution, leads to mortification of prisoners or detainees, will be held civilly or criminally liable to the judge who authorizes or consents to it, for acts or omissions, and will be cause for immediate dismissal of the officials and employees who order, apply, instigate or consent to it, without prejudice to the criminal liabilities they incur. (…) The Province will compensate the damages that cause deprivations of liberty by mistake or with notable violation of constitutional provisions.
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