More than 17,300 inmates have been infected and nearly 100 have died, according to the National Penitentiary Department. — Reuters pic
Brazil has the third-biggest prison population in the world after the United States and China, with nearly 750,000 inmates—well over the official capacity of 440,000. More than 17,300 inmates have been infected and nearly 100 have died, according to the National Penitentiary Department. “Inmates’ health was already a major problem. Now, with Covid-19, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Inmates’ fears for their lives and health, combined with restrictions on movement within the prisons and the interruption of work, educational and religious activities, are aggravating tensions, with serious emotional implications for the prison population,” it said.Another inmate’s relative shared a letter from her 29-year-old son, incarcerated for drug crimes and sharing a cell with 41 other prisoners in Sao Paulo.“It’s an agonising situation. There is information they aren’t sharing with us.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights voiced concern this month over the rapid spread of the virus in Brazil’s prisons, and called on the authorities to reduce overcrowding and grant parol whenever possible.