Brazilian detention centers subject children to various forms of abuse and “inhuman and degrading” conditions, the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) denounced on Wednesday, after experts from that organization concluded a visit to Brazil.
The organization cites as an example the Vitória de Santo Antão and Garanhuns detention centers, both in the state of Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil, where The children spend most of their time handcuffed in their cells and most are only allowed out for an hour a day.
In the first of the centers it was found that the children are forced to use untreated water for bathing and other basic needswhile prison staff have unlimited access to running water.
The Garanhuns center, whose closure was recommended last year by the State Council for the Protection of Children due to its subhuman conditions, continues to operate with unventilated and moldy cells, warned the OMCT.
The investigations of the delegation of experts in Brazil found thick wooden sticks in the staff quarters of both juvenile detention centers, where some children reported having been beaten with these blunt objects.
It is necessary to investigate in depth the treatment received by children detained in detention centers, especially the use of violence by prison officials”, concluded the coordinator of the program for the protection of children against torture of the OMCT, Laure Elmaleh .
Source: Observadora
