AMERICA/VENEZUELA - In the prison of Uribana 58 deaths and 88 injured: "the Catholic Church cannot remain inactive!"

Caracas (Agenzia Fides) - "Faced with the ineffective government prison policy, with the overcrowding, lack of adequate food, uncontrolled violence, procedural delays and all the humiliation suffered by the families, among other things, that continue to affect the prisoners in Venezuela, the Catholic Church cannot remain inactive!" Is what is said in a statement released yesterday, January 29, sent to Fides Agency, by the National Commission for the Pastoral Care of the prisons of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV), in which it expresses its sorrow for the tragic events of Uribana and asks to carry out "an inquiry into what happened, in an effective, independent and impartial manner, that allows to prosecute and punish those responsible."
The statement, titled "It is moment of national mourning," referred to the violent events that took place in the Central Penitentiary in Uribana, where on January 25, during a riot in which the reasons have not yet been clarified, 58 people were killed and 88 were injured. The statement, after condemning the power of gangs inside detention centers and the use of arms, recalls that the State is called upon to ensure the lives of the imprisoned.
"We call on the Government, under Article 272 of our Constitution, to commit themselves more decisively to resolve the current crisis in prisons - continues the statement - and take all the necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of these events and for the effective guarantee of all human rights of prisoners in Venezuela." The Commission of CEV also seeks to restore the permission, now suspended, to pastoral workers of the Church, in order to enter detention centers. The document concludes by inviting the Christian community to work to ensure respect for the human dignity of all. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 30/01/2013)