The world’s prisoners have been forgotten in the covid

Overcrowding in prisons in more than 100 countries around the world carries risks for outbreaks of the covid-19 pandemic, which requires preferential attention from governments according to Amnesty International. Photo: Ricahrd Burton / AI

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LONDON, 18 March 2021 (IPS) – The prison population, more than 11 million people around the world, has been forgotten in the attention to the covid-19 pandemic and could become a major focus of the spread of the disease, the humanitarian organization warned in a report on Thursday 18 Amnesty International (AI).

Prisons “are the places most exposed to outbreaks of covid-19 and the lack of clarity about vaccination programs, policies and the treatment of inmates is a pressing global problem,” said Netsanet Belay, director of research and labor incidence in AI.

As governments do not publish up-to-date and reliable information, according to AI, it is difficult to determine the real number of infections and deaths related to covid. Even so, the available data reflects worrying patterns of contagion in prisons around the world.

In the United States alone, as of mid-February, more than 612,000 infections had already been reported in prisons and detention centers and at least 2,700 deaths among inmates and prison staff. In August 2020, the death rate in that country’s prisons was double that of the general population.

“Whoever they are, and wherever they are, everyone has the right to masks, adequate amounts of soap, disinfectant items and potable running water”: Netsanet Belay.

Likewise, while vaccination plans and strategies are being designed, many governments are silent about vaccinating prisoners at risk, said the study that evaluated government responses to the pandemic in 69 countries, from all regions.

Then there is the issue of overcrowding, recognized as one of the most serious problems in prisons. Some 102 countries reflect occupancy levels above 110 percent, with a significant proportion of people convicted or convicted of non-violent crimes.

Although steps have been taken to free those eligible for it under these circumstances – there was a surge in mid-2020 and some 600,000 people were released – AI maintains that current release rates are insufficient and do not reduce the enormous risk What does the virus entail

“In countries such as Iran and Turkey, hundreds of arbitrarily imprisoned people, such as human rights defenders, were excluded from release programs due to COVID, in addition to the fact that some detainees were excluded from medical care”, Belay assured.

And “numerous countries with dangerously high prison overcrowding – such as Bulgaria, Egypt, Nepal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – continue to fail to address the concerns raised by the covid outbreaks,” he added.

The pandemic also exposed years of underinvestment and neglect of health services in prisons, and prison authorities “have not been able or have not wanted to improve those services,” according to the AI ​​report “Forgotten after bars: Covid-19 and prisons ”.

AI gave as examples that countries such as Cambodia, the United States, France, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Togo “have been unable to apply adequate protection and prevention measures in prisons to stop the spread” of the covid.

In numerous countries around the world, “many prisoners are struggling to get soap, adequate sanitation or personal protective equipment, while having difficulty maintaining physical distance and receiving limited medical attention,” the report insisted.

“Whoever they are, and wherever they are, everyone has the right to masks, adequate amounts of soap, disinfectant items and potable running water,” said Belay.

Furthermore, “in prisons, especially, it is necessary to provide free personal protective equipment, and governments must promote access to tests and treatments to prevent and manage possible outbreaks,” he added.

Belay also criticized measures by several governments in the face of the spread of the covid, which led to new human rights violations, “such as an excessive isolation regime to guarantee physical distance in prisons.”

For example, in Argentina and the United Kingdom, detainees were isolated for up to 23 hours a day, often for weeks or months. “In some circumstances, excessive isolation could constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” Belay said.

Some confinement measures affected family visits to prisons, provoking in some cases protests and riots in prisons, with responses from the authorities often with excessive force.

AI’s report concludes by requesting that the prison population be included in vaccination programs, and as a priority sector, considering that their prison conditions do not allow them to maintain physical distance.

AE/HM

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