Willful Negligence Alleged in Honduras Prison Fire

Honduras Weekly
Human rights groups in Honduras today demanded an investigation into the fire that killed 358 people at the National Penitentiary of Comayagua, alleging that negligence by prison guards and officials was behind the deaths. "We see that there was negligence in not opening the [cell] gates. There needs to be an exhaustive investigation undertaken. The keys [to the cells] are nowhere to be found," said Andrés Pavón, president of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (Codeh). According to Leonel Casco of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, he is aware of a prison official who instead of opening the gates "threw down the keys and ran away". The newspaper El Heraldo reported that one prisoner, Rubén García, said, "When the fire started we called out to the people with the keys but they didn't want to open [our cells]."

Johel Leonidas Medina, 69, whose son died of smoke inhalation in the prison said he heard that "the keys could not be found, and that there were gunshots, but we don't know if the police thought it might be a prison break". He blames the guards for the deaths. "They killed them... they yelled die you dogs, it's good that you die. Many were imprisoned for having stolen a chicken. When they tried to escape through the ceiling, the guards shot at them," said Julia Morales, 72. "[The guards] would not open the gates for the firefighters." (2/15/12)