An Eyelet Into Life Inside Brazil's Prisons - A Real Account

by Human Rights Watch | Life and Living

Prisoners in Brazil don't have the best of experience, going by this report by Human Rights Watch. An eyewitness told of inmates in a windowless cell, in the “punishment and transfer” area at Presídio Juiz Antônio Luiz L. de Barros (PJALLB), in Recife.

* A windowless cell in the “punishment and transfer”
area at Presídio Juiz Antônio Luiz L. de Barros (PJALLB), in Recife. 

Inside the room, the inmates sleep without bunks or mattresses and all 37 prisoners in the cell sleep on the floor.

The eyelet was provided by Jorge,  a prisoner who found himself in the cell even though he had been the victim of rape in another prison. He found that the cell, which was considered the safest place for him did not even have bed or mattress.

According to the report, the windowless prison cell which held 37 men was hot, and there was just enough space for the men to sleep close together on the floor.

There were no mattresses and apart from the electric lights, a narrow slit in the door was the only place sunlight and fresh air trickled through.

All the men shared one bathroom. This was one of three cells in the “punishment and transfer” wing, designed for prisoners who had either broken the prison’s rules or for those transferred from other prisons for a hearing in the state capital.

To read the full report, click "Witness: The Horrors of Brazil’s Prisons – Jorge’s Story".