Venezuela prison riot kills 61, government mum

[Bacchus4.0]

http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-prison-riot-kills-61-government-mum-193314251.html

\....URIBANA, Venezuela (Reuters) - A prison riot in southwestern Venezuela killed 61 people, a hospital official said on Sunday, although the government has refused to give an official death toll in the bloody standoff that highlighted chaos in the country's jails.

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It was not known who posted the lists. A prisons ministry official did not respond to requests for comment. Amid the silence, rumors circulated among family members at the prison gates that the death toll had reached as high as 400.

'BUNCH OF DEAD PEOPLE'

"There's a bunch of dead people tossed on the ground in there, the government doesn't want to take them out to avoid showing the reality," said Veronica Chavez, whose husband told her he was being transferred to another prison but did not know which. She called the list outside the prison "a lie."

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Varela said reports had exaggerated the number of dead by including prisoners whose bodies showed signs they died several days before the incident - comments that critics seized as further evidence of the cruelty of the penitentiary system.

[Bacchus4.0]

1. UN blames Ven government for prisoner deaths (Spanish)

http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/130129/onu-responsabiliza-al-estado-venezolano-de-las-muertes-de-uribana

[Bacchus4.0]

2. English article

http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/130129/un-holds-venezuelan-state-accountable-for-deaths-at-uribana-jail

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday lamented the deaths of 58 prisoners in a riot reported Friday in a prison in Venezuela and blamed the authorities for the incident.

"What happened reflects a disturbing pattern of violence in Venezuelan prisons," said at a press conference Pillay's spokesman, Rupert Colville, Efe reported.

"It is a result of the alarming lack of services in Venezuelan prisons, the overcrowding of inmates, and the fact that many of the inmates are under pre-trial detention for a long time," he added.

Therefore, the High Commissioner believes that the Venezuelan authorities "are responsible for what happened, because they should look after the welfare of prisoners."

[Marksman_91]

3. Wait... I thought Venezuela was a utopia under Chávez! Say it ain't so!

[naaman fletcher]

4. Verla is an incompetent fool

Last edited Wed Jan 30, 2013, 09:20 AM - Edit history (1)

One marvels at what a horrible job she has done (which isn't a surprise, given her lack of background in anything related to this).

So, there is vast overcrowding in Venezuela prisons. So what's her response to this? To transfer these prisoners to another over-crowded prison, making it even more over crowded.