UN torture prevention subcommittee ‘gravely concerned’ about Ecuador prison conditions News
ErikaWittlieb / Pixabay
UN torture prevention subcommittee ‘gravely concerned’ about Ecuador prison conditions

The UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture (SPT) called on Ecuador to immediately manage its current prison crisis and protect detainees’ human rights. The SPT reported that as a result of recent violence and decades long state abandonment, prisons lack essential services and resources.

The SPT visited nine places of deprivation of liberty in three cities from September 25 until October 1. Violence in the prison system over the past few years has resulted in hundreds of deaths. During the SPT’s visit, a prison fight broke out in Latacunga, killing at least 15 inmates. Maria Luisa Romero led the subcommittee’s investigation. Romero said that the SPT is “gravely concerned about the dire situation in various detention centers and prisons in Ecuador.” The SPT will share their report and recommendations with Ecuador, but the report will remain confidential until Ecuador decides to publish it.

The SPT first visited Ecuador in 2014 after the nation introduced the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2010. The SPT focuses on a “proactive approach to preventing torture and ill treatment” and aims to improve the treatments in an effort to preserve human rights.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.