Brasília, 6/29/2004 (Agência Brasil) - The situation at the Urso Branco (White Bear) prison in the state of Rondônia, which was built to hold 360 inmates, but has 880 today and has had as many as 940 in the past, is being discussed in hearings at a meeting of the Organization of American States Interamerican Court which began yesterday in Costa Rica. Brazil is represented at the hearings by officials from the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Relations, government lawyers, and the Special Secretariat for Human Rights.

The NGO, Global Justice Center (GJC) and the Justice and Peace Commission, a Catholic church-linked organization, requested the hearings following the death of 14 inmates at Urso Branco in April. According to GJC, 74 inmates have been executed in the prison since January 2001. A spokeswoman for GJC, Sandra Carvalho, says: "The state government of Rondônia has not been able to comply with recommendations made by the OAS to protect inmates. For example, they have not been able to discover who was responsible for the recent inmate deaths." GJC has also requested that international standards be used at the Urso Branco prison along with the creation of a commission to coordinate and supervise its implementation.

Brazil's National Penitentiary Department (Depen) has proposed the appointment of a temprorary circuit judge who could work at the prison to speed up criminal processes. Such a judge could possibly move some inmates out of Urso Branco by making them serve semi- or non-custodial sentences, even allowing some to go on parole. The circuit judge would be assisted by a prosecutor, public defender and secretary and could remain in Rondônia for 30 to 60 days reviewing the status of all the inmates.

(Translator: Allen Bennett)