Chaguaramas Detainees Begin Hunger Strike

Eleven inmates being held at Teteron Barracks and Staubles Bay in Chaguaramas have initiated a hunger strike, protesting against what they perceive as harsh conditions and demanding relocation from the military facilities. The protest started with the prisoners refusing all meals, a stance they intend to maintain until they are placed in what they believe to be regular prison accommodation. They claim that the authorities are applying psychological pressure to compel their compliance, and that their detention at these facilities infringes on their constitutional rights. Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro dismissed their complaints, stating that prisoners do not have the prerogative to choose their housing location. He emphasized that the Prison Service assigns detainees based on security considerations and available space. The prisoners argue that these facilities were not intended to operate as prisons and that their continued detention there violates the Prisons Act and the 1943 Prison Rules. They claim to have been subjected to physical and mental abuse since their transfer. The prisoners were relocated to Chaguaramas under Preventive Detention Orders during the recent State of Emergency, which concluded on January 31.

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