Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 01:08:30 -0800
Subject: M-G: The Situation Of  Political Prisoners In Peru



Here MRTA supporters describe the prisons.  -Jay / Detroit
=========================================================The Situation Of Political Prisoners In Peru

Translated by Arm The Spirit from Angehoerigen Info #183

1. The Maximum-Security Prison At The Callao Marine Base

	Those held as hostages of the dictatorship in this maximum-security
prison include comrade Victor Polay Campos, member of the national
leadership of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) and
Comandante General of the Tuparmaran Popular Army (EPT); Maria Lucero
Cumpa Mitanda, member of the national leadership and comandante of the
guerrilla, and Peter Cardenas Schulte, member of the national
leadership.
	They were all convicted in front of speedy military tribunals and
sentenced to life in prison on charges of "terrorism" and "treason"
under the Fujimori dictatorship's tightened security laws. These
security laws are in violation of international treaties and agreements
which Peru's Congress has approved and signed on to, as well as other
international conventions on human rights and torture, and even parts of
Peru's own Constitution.

Prison Conditions In Callao

	The Callao prison was constructed in March 1993 by the Fujimori
dictatorship and is the greatest example of their inhumanity and
ignorance of human worth. It is located inside of the Peruvian marine
base at Callao in Lima.
	This prison, once described as a "living grave", was built with the aim
of physically and psychologically destroying our prisoners. It is also
supposed to psychologically affect all men and women, warning them of
the consequences should they dare to rise up against the neo-liberal
policies of the Fujimori dictatorship.
	The construction of this prison was an integral part of a plan
developed by the military and the secret service. It's aim is, through
fear, to prevent any revolutionary consciousness from developing within
the Peruvian people, and it was accompanied with a series of measures of
control and repression which they called the "psycho-social campaign".
	This prison-grave consists of 8 reinforced cells (made of cement and
iron) which are located 8 meters under ground. This serves the purpose
of destruction: physical isolation, acoustic isolation, visual
isolation, darkness, cramped conditions, total observation and control.
The prison is outfitted with sound sensors and motion detectors, alarm
systems, mines in the cellars and crawl spaces, and continually-filming
video cameras. The cameras are controlled in a central watch center, and
the guards towers around the prison walls are staffed with military
personnel with FAL long-distance rifles.

The Cells

	The cells are rectangles, 3 x 2 meters in area. There is a reinforced
metal door along one of the walls which is double-locked and which can't
be opened by the guards, whose keys are in the possession of military
officers.
	There is a small rectangular window in the middle of the door which is
used to pass in food. It is constructed in such a way as to prevent
contact with other prisoners or even the guards.
	Each cell has a sink and a toilet, but the flow of water is controlled
>from the outside and is only allowed at certain times. The cells do not
have their own artificial light, so there is a perpetual state of
half-darkness.
	Above the door on every cell, about 2 meters up, is a type of cellar
window, a slit 15cm wide, which is opened for a few minutes each day to
allow in some direct sunlight.
	The cells are arranged so that there are 4 across from 4, separated by
a small hallway. Again, these 8 cells are located 8 meters underground.
	When our comrades were transported to this prison-grave, they were
drugged with sedatives so that they would lose their sense of time and
would not have a sense for the exact location of the prison. Each and
every prisoner was subjected to a full year of total isolation with no
visits and no time to walk in the yard.

30 Minutes Per Day In The Yard

	Following this period of total isolation, prisoners are allowed a
30-minute period each day outside in the yard. These breaks are taken
alone so that there is no contact between prisoners. Inmates can use
this time to walk in circles around the tiny yard, read the Bible (given
to them by the guards), or watch pre-approved videos in a TV room
monitored from the towers.

Possibilities For Letters And Information

	All letters, including those written by our comrades as well as those
sent to them, are studied thoroughly by secret service agents, the same
people who decide which letters may be received and which may be sent.
There is no right to privacy and no guarantee of confidentiality.
	The prisoners have no access to books, newspapers, or magazines, and
they may not watch TV or listen to the radio.

Visits

	Visiting hours last for a total of 30 minutes per month. Only immediate
family members (parents, children, partners) are allowed to visit. No
physical contact is allowed during these visits, and all conversations
take place through super-thick glass via a speaker system, with security
personnel present. All conversations are recorded and analyzed later.
	Family members visiting our comrades may not bring them clothes or
food. These can only be given via military personnel, who search the
goods thoroughly and then decide whether or not to give them to the
prisoners.
	Visiting family members are transported to the visiting center in
fully-closed vehicles, so that they cannot discern where exactly the
visits are taking place.

Attempt To Force A "Peace Agreement"

	After they detained our comrades in total isolation, the government, by
means of its "psycho-social campaign" and its spokesman Vladimiro
Montesinos, tried to trick them by promising eased prison conditions if
they sign a "peace agreement". This means a dialogue with the
dictatorship and swearing off the armed struggle. This offer, brought
personally by Montesinos to our comrade Comandante General Victor Polay
Campos, was rejected immediately. This decision angered the government
representative, who then threatened to shoot our comrade. All the
comrades imprisoned in Callao rejected the dictatorship's offer. The
dictatorship responded by worsening the prison conditions, making the
rules even more strict.
	Those people who accepted the government's conditions, however, have
since been given certain advantages in prison treatment.

2. The Maximum-Security Prison In Yanamayo

	This high-security facility was constructed in 1990 in Puno province in
southernmost Peru. It is located in the Andes Mountains at an altitude
of 3,800 meters. The climate is very cold, and even in the summer months
the temperature lingers near 15 degrees Celsius. The rest of the year it
is minus 10 degrees. The prison complex was built in the middle of the
Andes on a lonely, high plateau. The complex is about 10,000 square
meters in size. On the outside, it is guarded by a group of 100 elite
army troops. The troops are lined up in trenches and they patrol the
perimeter in armored vehicles, as well as trucks, pick-ups, two
helicopters, and even a mine field. A group of 300 elite national
policemen are responsible for security inside the prison.
	The prison is constructed with concrete and consists of different
pavilions, each with its own yard. The comrades of the MRTA are located
in pavilion 4A.
	The cells are 3 x 3 meters and house two persons each. They have
sanitary facilities, but the use of radios or TVS is prohibited. No
cooking is allowed. The windows have no glass, so our comrades suffer
>from poor health due to the cold and strong winds. Many now suffer from
respiratory illnesses. According to a rule issued by the dictatorship,
all prisoners brought to this facility must spend one year in total
isolation. After this period they are granted 30 minutes each day in the
yard. In other words, prisoners are in their cells for 23.5 hours every
day. During the 30 minutes of yard time, prisoners can do a bit of
exercise or sit in the sun. No magazines or newspapers are allowed into
the prison, only books which must first be censored by the authorities.
Books brought to our comrades by family members are not allowed to stay
in the possession of the prisoner, rather they must be stored in the
library.
	In the cells, work can only be done which does not require tools,
because tools are forbidden.
	Guards are allowed to punish our comrades at will, sometimes forcing
them to spend 48 days in a dark 2 x 1 meter cell. Or they revoke the
prisoners' visitation or yard rights.
	As for food, the prison allocates only 60 centavos (100 centavos = 1
dollar) per day per prisoner, and the quality of the food is very poor.
We know of many prisoners who have lost very much weight or contracted
digestive disorders or tuberculosis. Family members are allowed to bring
in food during their visits, but the difficulty of traveling to this
prison makes it nearly impossible to transport food. Furthermore, some
family members can only make it to the prison twice a year, because the
journey is very expensive.
	Visits are only granted to immediate family members who have applied
for and received visitation papers. No physical contact is allowed
during visits, but people can talk to one another. The comrades are
behind two layers of bars, and guards are always present during visits.

3. The Maximum-Security Prison Castro Castro

	This prison is located in the suburbs of Lima and was constructed as a
high-security facility, until an MRTA commando was able in 1990 to
liberate our comrades by means of a 315m long tunnel. Under the Fujimori
dictatorship, the exterior of the prison was reinforced with military
troops. The national police control the interior. Many of the guards are
masked so that they cannot be identified. Many problems have arisen in
this prison due to overcrowding, since three prisoners must share a 6 x
2 meter cell for 23.5 hours every day. This situation is made worse by
the fact that all three share the same sanitary facilities in the cell.
	Many illnesses have been attributed to these poor conditions. Comrades
are not given medical treatment, and the bringing in of food is severely
restricted. Only pre-cooked food for immediate consumption may be
brought in by relatives, and no fruit whatsoever may be brought in.
	Inside this prison, like in the others, one room is designated as a
court for speedy trials. The prisoners are brought in with their heads
covered and are often treated poorly or tortured.

4. The Maximum-Security Prison Chor-Rillos

	This prison is located in the center of Lima and is a women's prison
for women charged with terrorism crimes. Some of the guards are women,
but a security detachment in charge of most functions is comprised
solely of men. That is the biggest difference between this prison and
the others, because the reality of repression which reigns in the other
prisons is exactly the same here. The facility consists of three
pavilions, each three stories high. There are rows of cells one next to
the other. A tiny window at the end of the hall has a view into the
yard. The cells, 3 x 2 meters, have two wooden planks on one side, a
sink and a toilet on the other. "Prisoners are not allowed to have hair
combs, mirrors, photos, letters, radios, or TVS; it is against the rules
to discuss politics or anything contemporary; they're not allowed to
read, to write, to smoke..." reported a member of a Red Cross delegation
who visited the prison.

	These are just some examples of the conditions in Peruvian prisons, in
Cajamarca, Arcquipa, Huancayo, Huancavelica...
	Because of these prison conditions, these violations of human rights,
we call on solidarity groups, NGOs, and political organizations to
protest this repression and violation of human dignity.

Berlin, May 1996

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