Prisons meurtrières

Alors qu'en France la surpopulation carcérale, les conditions de vie des prisonniers, le nombre de suicides en prison font régulièrement et tristement l'actualité, j'ai cherché des données sur le Portugal.
Voici donc ci-dessous ce que j'ai trouvé : pour l'année 2006, dans les prisons portugaises il y a eu 91 morts en prison dont 14 suicides et environ 3/4 des prisons étaient en surpopulation.
Je disais hier que si l'on mesurait la valeur d'une société à la manière dont elle traite ses retraités, le Portugal ne serait pas à l'honneur. Pareil pour les prisonniers.
Le Portugal n'est donc doublement pas à l'honneur.

"Three in four Portuguese prisons are overcrowded, with five housing more than double the recommended number of inmates. Of the country's 53 prisons, 41 are running above capacity, said the Directorate General of Prison Services. With a population of just over 10 million people, Portugal has one of Europe's highest rates of prisoner deaths. Health officials estimate the rate of tuberculosis among prisoners is 30 times higher than among the general population, DGPS said. Approximately one in 10 inmates have HIV/AIDS, while 30 percent are infected with hepatitis B or C, it said" (AFP, 2006)

"According to the Directorate General of Prison Services in May, 70 per cent of prisons were operating over their intended capacity and three of them - Portimão, Angra do Heroísmo and Guimarães - at more than double the designated number of prisoners. Overcrowding reduced the resources available for each prisoner and exacerbated poor hygiene conditions and the transmission of infectious diseases. Of a total of 91 prisoners' deaths in 2006, 74 were from illness, 14 were suicides and three were recorded as homicide.
In June Minister of Justice Alberto Costa announced government plans to close 22 prisons and enlarge others, increasing total capacity from 12,000 to 14,500 places. Most of the prisons were scheduled to close over the next three years, raising concerns about the impact on conditions in remaining prisons." (Amnesty International, rapport 2007)