And in other prison news, our newsroom received several videos purportedly depicting inhumane treatment of prisoners at the Belize Central Video. In this video, guards are seemingly pepper spraying cuffed prisoners directly in their faces, as the men are forced to kneel and inhale the noxious spray.
The other videos are more disturbing, including a man apparently being forced to ingest large quantities of water and then vomit it out. And as well, there is video of the very public issue of the paralyzed inmate who is suffering from extreme bedsores.
Along with the videos was an anonymous letter to the president of the Human Right Commission detailing the reports of human rights violations within the prison, including that the inmates are reportedly being fed stale or spoiled food twice a day.
We reached out to the CEO of Kolbe Foundation, Virgilio Murillo, for comment. As for the videos of alleged torture of inmates, he told us that while he can see that the men seen in the video are prison guards, there is no evidence to confirm when the videos were taken. He noted that he does not recognize any of the guards and can guarantee that that type of treatment is not occurring within the prison currently.
In terms of the inmate with bedsores, he says the issue has been in the news before and he maintains the position that the inmate is receiving the treatment he needs and has been assisted by the Belize Assembly for Persons with Diverse Abilities.
