After prison blaze kills hundreds in Honduras,
UN warns on overcrowding
15 February 2012
A United Nations human rights official today called on
Latin American countries to tackle the problem of prison
overcrowding in the wake of an overnight fire at a jail in
Honduras that killed hundreds of inmates. More than
300 prisoners are reported to have died in the blaze at
the prison, located north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, with
dozens of others still missing and presumed dead. Antonio
Maldonado, human rights adviser for the UN system in
Honduras, told UN Radio today that overcrowding may
have contributed to the death toll. “But we have to wait until
a thorough investigation is conducted so we can reach a
precise cause,” he said. “But of course there is a problem of
overcrowding in the prison system, not only in this country,
but also in many other prisons in Latin America.”
Disponível em: www.un.org. Acesso em: 22 fev. 2012 (adaptado).