| WHITE BOOK 2006 >> THIRD PART >>CHAPTER 6 | ||
CHAPTER 6: CONVERTING PRISONS INTO REAL CENTRES FOR EDUCATION AND HUMAN ENHANCEMENT As part of the its aggressive policy against Cuba, the US government has seen fit to use all manner of weapons, from the most cruel, aggressive and genocidal, to the dissemination of the most abject lies and distortions about the Cuban reality. One of the main targets of this policy of deceit has been the Cuban penitentiary system. They have tried to make the world believe that our country’s prisons do not adhere even to minimum international regulations and they have made false allegations and fabricated distortions about the humane policies and treatment carried out in Cuba’s prison system. In the campaigns of media and political manipulation being waged against Cuba, false accounts are spread and reproduced, inventing and describing non-existent details about a prison regime, supposedly repressive and inhumane, where even the most elemental of human rights are being violated. False allegations about abuse and atrocities which have never been committed by Cuban prison authorities are repeated ad nauseum, with the aim of reinforcing the image of prisoners being systematically and generally mistreated and tortured. Tales are told of terrible prison conditions, of a subhuman diet, shortages, restrictions and even cases where prisoners are denied medical care. With the desire to increase knowledge about the humanistic policies of the Cuban Revolution in this field and the transformations which have occurred in our country’s prison system differentiating it from the system that was in existence in pre-Revolutionary Cuba, it is important to present some central analytical concepts which will totally unmask the blatant campaigns of anti-Cuban propaganda. The transformations that have taken place in the Cuban penitentiary system inherited in 1959 The pre-Revolutionary prison system ―in which hundreds of brave young Cubans who were fighting against the Washington-backed tyranny were tortured and executed without trial― was characterized by promiscuity and overcrowding, legal and administrative corruption, ruthless crime, physical abuse and torture, disappearances, racial and social discrimination and the brutal treatment of inmates, to the detriment of human integrity and dignity. In this system, if it can be called that; there was also a total lack of social rehabilitation programmes. The prisons were veritable warehouses filled with people oppressed by the dictatorship and marginalized by a profoundly unjust society. In short, the prison regime was ruthless and brutal, deforming human beings and creating delinquents. The Revolution had to destroy the prison regime that it inherited from the Batista tyranny. Since then, it has been building a revolutionary penitentiary system which is profoundly humane and based on respect for and rigorous control over application of laws and regulations that are inspired by the desire to re-educate and rehabilitate every inmate so they can rejoin society. The old prisons inherited from the capitalist system were closed. One of these was the so-called “Presidio Modelo” (Model Prison) situated on the then Isla de Pinos (now known as Isla de la Juventud), and those located in the Castillos del Príncipe, El Morro, La Cabaña and San Severino, which were established during the colonial period. These establishments lacked even the most basic conditions necessary to house human beings. Both closed and open prisons were built based on humanitarian concepts and respect for the concepts and principles developed by international criminal science about the best methods for treating prisoners. The revolutionary government abolished obsolete prison laws and regulations, many of which dated back to the colonial period. The staff that worked in the penitentiary centers were also replaced as a result of the high standards of humanism and respect for human dignity that began to be demanded and continues to be demanded today of these citizens who perform such an important social function. Among the transformations that took place during the process of building a new penitentiary system in the country following the triumph of the Cuban revolution, particular mention should be made of: The penitentiary legislation and its regulations were improved, using as a guide the rules of the ‘International Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners’ passed by the First Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, held in 1955 in Geneva, Switzerland. This work carried out by the Revolution meant that prisoners were once again treated as human beings. It also encouraged society to respect them as legitimate children of the Cuban nation, regardless of the offences they had committed. The legal and judicial framework that supports the transformation of the Cuban penitentiary system today When analyzing the foundations of Cuba’s actual prison system, one must bear in mind that these are not only laid down by the penitentiary regulations in use, but also by the country’s most important laws. Article 58 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba establishes that “every accused person has the right to a defense”. Article 57 states that “the personal integrity of any person arrested or imprisoned is inviolable.” The Penal Code establishes alternatives to imprisonment; it acknowledges the possibility of granting parole to prisoners, promotes joint sanctions for whoever has been found guilty of having committed several offences, and differentiates between repeat offenders, recidivists and those in jail for the first time. The Law of Criminal Procedure establishes procedural guarantees for those accused of committing an offence and ensures that they are defended by qualified lawyers. It also requires the accused to appear at the trial when summoned by the court, and the subsequent drafting of a document which is very important to define the legal status of those who have been sentenced. This is the document containing the sentence and how it is to be served, two important elements which define how the prisoner will be treated in the system. Besides the Ministry of the Interior, the following institutions also contribute to protecting and ensuring that the Cuban prison system is lawfully run: the People’s Courts, the Republic’s Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Committees for Prevention and Social Care. The public relations bodies, departments or management offices of the abovementioned institutions channel, process and respond to any complaint about alleged breaches of law or violation of inmates’ rights in the Cuban penitentiary system. The supervision and control carried out by the Republic’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, an authority with the capacity to report the results of its inquiries and investigations directly to the Council of State, is of particular importance. The aim of this is to provide additional guarantees that the rights of inmates and their families are protected and that the law continues to be upheld. There is no shadow of a doubt that the Cuban prison system more than complies with the 95 rules adopted by the United Nations system in the ‘International Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners’. The Cuban prison system, unlike systems in many other parts of the world, in particular in the Cuban territory in Guantánamo illegally occupied by the US Naval Base, guarantees prisoners due respect for their physical and psychological integrity and their human dignity. While serving their sentences, they are treated fairly and are guaranteed support to help them reintegrate into society once they have completed their sentences or on being released before the full sentence is served. Points of interest about the Cuban penitentiary system Following the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, our nation embarked on an unprecedented path of change in all economic, political and social tasks including the penitentiary system where the old anachronistic concepts dealing with treatment of prisoners or those being held in preventative custody underwent radical transformations. This conceptual change was the most important element, revolving around the prison system and its place in society; thus, the prisons were transformed from warehouses for inmates to places where the minimum essential conditions ensured prisoners respect for their dignity and multiplied their opportunities for development as human beings. The Cuban penitentiary system seeks to ensure protection and safety for the inmate population and the development of a group of actions that contribute to the improvement of their human condition and social conduct. As the Revolution has designed and developed it, the penitentiary system must rescue human beings and also offer a sense of usefulness and virtue within prison conditions. Along these lines, a description of some of the distinctive elements of our penitentiary system follows: 1. Treatment within the prisons The progressive prison treatment (which is mentioned above), offers prisoners the opportunity of two months per year time off for good behavior, being transferred from higher to lower security prisons and to serve non-custodial instead of prison sentences. An average of 40% of those found guilty serve their sentences in open prisons that have no fences or other means of security and no prison uniforms. The prisoners work in conditions similar to those enjoyed by the general population. They are awarded passes or special leave for good behavior. 82% of all prisoners are released without completing their full sentence. Early release may be granted to first time offenders after half of the sentence has been served, this period is reduced to a third for young people and increased to two thirds for repeat offenders and recidivists. Unlike the rest of Latin America, in Cuba more than 90% of inmates have been given a definitive sentence. Prisoners sentenced to less than 5 years may commute these sentences to non-custodial punishments after a third of the original sentence has been served. Disciplinary measures and the regulations for their application expressly prohibit corporal punishment, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or the taking away of meals. Convicts are under no conditions ever restrained with chains, shackles, or straight jackets. Violence and mistreatment, physical as well as spiritual, are totally forbidden and are considered to be a crime in the eyes of the law. This makes it obligatory to punish anyone who commits acts of this nature while carrying out their duties in the penitentiary centers. Force is only permitted when its use is strictly necessary to restore order. It should be stressed that the use of firearms by those working inside prisons is prohibited; their use is limited to the perimeters of closed prisons, and even there it is heavily restricted. Each prison provides its inmates with clean drinking water and an adequate diet of at least 2,400 calories a day. Their families may also bring them up to 40 pounds of food products and other basic necessities every time they visit. Inmates who are ill are given a medical prescription, and receive the diet indicated for their complainant. Every prisoner is provided with personal hygiene necessities, underwear and uniforms at no persona expense. Female inmates are housed in prisons exclusively for women, where the all-female staff are properly trained. Young inmates also receive differentiated treatment. They are housed in prisons solely for the young or in areas separate from the adult prison and are attended by a hand-picked staff. Inmates keep in touch with their families through visits, the use of conjugal quarters (a benefit available to inmates of both sexes), telephone calls and correspondence. To encourage good behavior, prisoners may also be awarded passes or special visits to their homes without a guard. They have the right to be taken to hospitals, funeral parlors or burials if a close relation is suffering from a serious illness or dies. There are no obstacles, wire netting, bars or glass walls to prevent the inmates from having direct contact with their families during visits. The prison system, at the request of relatives, social workers or the prisoners themselves, promotes the granting of economic assistance to the inmates who need it; this is apportioned to them by the country’s social security system. As part of the comprehensive treatment given to the prison population, and with a view to reducing the negative effects of social isolation to an essential minimum, supervised visits are made to cultural, sport, historical and economic centers, as a reward for good behavior. The inmates also enjoy access to the media, especially TV, which can be watched until the end of the day’s programming. Prisoners also have the opportunity to interact with famous people from the world of art, culture and sport who visit the prisons. While on the subject of the wide range of facilities available to allow inmates to stay in contact with the outside world, it is worth highlighting the importance of the conjugal quarters or visits. This benefit has been guaranteed to any inmate who requests it, from the early years of the Cuban Revolution, in compliance with one of the recommendations of the Minimum Rules adopted by the United Nations. The Cuban prison system allows inmates to receive visits from ministers of religion if they so wish but respects their freedom not to practice any religion. Prison staff is chosen and properly trained to carry out their duties. Among those comprising the workforce are doctors, educators, jurists, psychologists and other behavioral science professionals. Foreign inmates are housed in separate prisons or areas and are guaranteed consular aid, their cultural traditions are respected and they are offered the chance to acquire food, personal hygiene products and articles of personal use. The accused that are held without bail are housed in prisons or other areas separate from the rest of the inmates. In coordination with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the People’s Courts, it is policy to only use this measure when strictly necessary and a great effort is made to reduce the trial and sentencing period to a minimum in order to guarantee due process. Both in civil and criminal cases, those arrested are guaranteed legal aid and personal contact with legal representatives is ensured. Only a small percentage, between 8 and 10%, of the Cuban prison population have either not yet been tried, or are undergoing trial. This figure contrasts with the average rates reported in Latin America, which vary from 50 to 95%, with the odd exception. It has also been reported that in several of these countries trials can be delayed from anywhere between 2 to 10 years. 2. Levels of severity in the treatment of inmates Sentences given in Cuba have different levels of severity, some of which do not involve imprisonment in closed centers, namely: • The harshest punishment is given to those who have committed very serious crimes that have major social repercussions, such as acts of terrorism and piracy. 3. Health services All inmates are guaranteed free, primary and specialized medical and dental care. The National Penitentiary System has its own hospitals, care centers and medical points, and in every province there are ordinary hospitals that have wards for convicts, where inmates are guaranteed full access to our country’s medical breakthroughs. Inmates have the right to be admitted to any department of the country’s hospital network. They are also ensured specialized care by teams of specialists who visit the prison regularly. Prisoners also have the right to tertiary care wherever it is offered in the country. Every 200 inmates have access to a physician, every 900 have access to preventative, routine and specialized dental services, and there is one nurse for every 100 inmates; this is part of a network which includes hospitals, clinics and medical stations, areas reserved in hospitals belonging to the public health system and the necessary equipment, instruments and medical supplies. In Cuban prisons, pregnant inmates receive a special diet during pregnancy and until the child is one year old, a period during which the inmate is in permanent contact with her child, thus guaranteeing that the baby is breastfed. Once the year is up, the baby may be handed over to family members or boarded in a nursery free of charge. Pregnant inmates receive, as do all pregnant Cubans, highly specialized care and regular check-ups, including hospital consultations in gynaeco-obstetric hospitals around the country, as well as in facilities in the prisons themselves. In the Cuban penitentiary system, particular attention is also given to education. This comprises, among others, socially useful labor, academic education, technical training for a trade, civic and patriotic education and artistic, sporting and recreational activities. This broad and humane focus on rehabilitation is essentially aimed at changing behavioral habits, creating a sense of respect for the law and preparing the prisoners for their reintegration into society. Labor represents one of the fundamental links in the chain of activities aimed at rehabilitating inmates in order for them to fully reintegrate into society. It is in no way distressing or punitive for the prisoners. The decision to take part in labor schemes is voluntary and all workers receive a salary, as per the legislation and regulations in force in the country for all citizens. The difficulties brought about by the genocidal blockade have made it impossible to guarantee work for all inmates. In spite of the huge obstacles faced as a consequence of this veritable economic war imposed on the Cuban people by the US government, a great effort is underway to increase the availability of work for inmates who voluntarily opt for this right. Improving the Cuban prison system The creation and organization of and the improvements to the Cuban prison system have been and will always be inspired by the vision defended by the Commander in Chief: the socialist state cannot remain impassive to the fate of any human being. As part of the broad process of strengthening the transformations and efforts directed towards promoting a more just, educated, equal and brotherly society, in which the vanguard has been taken by the social programmes presently in progress, this nation has been carrying out, as a top priority, a true revolution in the prison system, based on the idea that prisons should become schools. Since the year 2000, the Cuban government has undertaken a series of actions and programmes to bring about this improvement, placing special emphasis on education for inmates, the aim being to more effectively rehabilitate and ultimately reintegrate prisoners into society. This process, which arose in the heat of the battle that the Cuban people face in the field of ideas, has been named ‘Task 500’. Task 500: birth, development and results Task 500 is a part of the programmes of the Revolution and was born at the same time as the social workers’ movement in 2000. It was conceived not just to convert, in practice, the prisons into schools, but to promote the rescue and redirecting of youth and minors in danger of committing misdemeanors in our society. Beginning with a study made in Cuban prisons, it was proven that 58% of young inmates had begun their life of crime between the ages of 16 and 24. More than 64% of them, at the time of committing these offences, were drop-outs from both school and the labour force. At the same time, a low level of education was observed in the majority of these youths; only 2% of them had a parent with a university education. The immense majority were from broken homes and their parents were generally disinterested in the raising of their children. The research created a profile of the type of youth whose future could include serving time in prison. The Cuban Revolution was not ready to sit back and do nothing. A plan was then conceived to recruit a group of young people as social workers, who would take an intensive training course, with the basic aim of mixing with young people who were not studying and were out of work at such an early age, after having left school after the ninth grade or even earlier. The job of the young social workers is to guide the lost youths’ reinsertion into society. The social worker’s first task was to find what was then known as ‘the missing link’. It was known which young people were studying and which were working, but the exact situation, worries and needs of the “lost” young people, and who they were, what they were thinking and what their hopes were, was unknown. The social workers thus made an effort to get to know these young people in order to begin acting as their tutors and guides. Later, they also began to work with young people who had just left prison and, most recently, with young people who are still in prison. During the first training course for young social workers given in the capital in 2000, these young people carried out a study, after combing the neighborhoods block by block in search for each and every “lost” youth. The results of the study showed that the profile of these lost youth was very similar to that of imprisoned youth, and the profile for those most susceptible to become delinquent and eventually serve prison time. Prioritized attention to this group of young people has been a cornerstone of the social programmes implemented by the Revolution over the last few years. We cannot allow anyone to be condemned by society and most probably to a marginal existence and a life of crime. Top Cuban government officials decided to multiply crime prevention actions, measures and programmes, by supporting and guiding those most likely to commit offences. The work carried out by the social workers is part of this process. As a result of the analysis of the situation of young people between 17 and 30 years old, with a ninth grade education but out of school and work, the Educational Improvement Course for Young People was created 3 years ago for young people in this situation. In 2004 the number of students enrolling was more that 150,000 students. Some study in the municipalities in which they live, through the opening of new university campuses, and others are enrolled in regular courses. These young people, who at one time thought the doors of the universities were closed to them and that they would never have the chance to become professionals, and who perhaps wanted certain jobs but were unable to get them because they lacked the right education, view the Educational Improvement Course for Young People as a new opportunity to fully realize themselves as human beings. The social workers, who have put a phenomenal effort into this preventive work, have been joined in their task by teachers, family doctors, members of the Federation of Cuban Women and all other Cuban social and community institutions. The Audiovisual Programme, which began on an experimental basis in October 2001 and is today underway in all prisons around the country, was created. Through this programme, courses from the very original Open University channel are taught, using video technology, closed circuit television, educational publications and additional teaching materials. Teachers from the Ministry of Education allocated to the prisons act as advisors and monitors are selected from among the prison population and trained to assist with teaching tasks. By mid 2004, 1,076 televisions and 195 videos had been installed in 84 penitentiary centers as teaching aids. During the first stage of this programme, 91% of inmates graduated. It should be mentioned that inmates participate in this and all the other programmes aimed at raising their educational and overall cultural level of their own free will. During the first stage, in 2001, 88% of the inmates joined the programme, while during the second and third stages, beginning in September 2002, the figure exceeded 90%. At the same time, in coordination with the Ministry of Education and other bodies of the State’s Central Administration, free school education up to 12th grade is taught by the Adult Education subsystem and technical training in trades such as bricklaying, carpentry, plumbing, electricity, handicrafts, welding and male and female hairdressing continues to be developed. Computer technology courses have been added to the above. With the active participation of the National Institute of Sport, Recreation and Physical Culture (INDER), courses for physical education teachers are taught in prisons in every province in the country. Once they have graduated, the students work in prisons and are paid a salary. They can also begin to study for a degree in Physical Culture, depending on their attitude, discipline and academic results. In the National Prisoners’ Hospital, the first nursing course is being developed on an experimental basis and in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health, which, depending on its results, will be extended throughout the country. Graduates from the course will work in the penitentiary system’s health facilities. Other areas that continue to be developed are sporting and cultural activities, in view of the positive effect they have on the health of the prison population, discipline, mood, and the creation of positive values such as collectivism and camaraderie. Added to this are Phys Ed courses in coordination with INDER and the organization of provincial, regional and national sporting events. In 2004, a national baseball championship was held and national games, which include a national aerobic gymnastics championship for female inmates, are currently being organized for the beginning of 2005. In coordination with the Ministry of Culture, numerous cultural events, festivals and literary competitions have been organized Setting up libraries in the prisons has been very important, allowing the inmates to broaden their knowledge, learn new things and spend their leisure time in a wholesome manner. These libraries have enriched them with hundreds of titles from the best of national and world literature. Inmates have been trained in library science and now work in the prison libraries. This boost to library services has provided important support to the Audiovisual Programme, school education and technical training and has been gradually improving the prison population’s reading habits, thus broadening their cultural level. The inmates and their families have taken part in all of the sporting and cultural activities, as both participants and as spectators, and the impact has been very positive. These basic programmes to convert the prisons into schools have had a great impact on the prisoners. They have contributed to improving the relationship and communication between prisoners and prison employees, allowing the inmates to become closer to the people who guard and rehabilitate them and vice versa. Similarly, they have created a prison environment conducive to human betterment. They have also contributed to instilling positive habits and values among the prison population and to raising their self-esteem. They have also brought about a considerable decrease in the number of incidences of indiscipline and breach of the peace. The differential treatment given to the young inmate is still a clear priority in meeting the goals of ‘Task 500’. The young inmates benefit from two important programmes in the penitentiary centers. The first, named ‘Project Reincorporation’, began in October 2001, with the creation of the San Francisco de Paula Youth Centre in Havana. The centre, created on an experimental basis, has 150 inmates aged between 16 and 21; they were selected for their behavior in prison, are first time offenders, and were chosen no matter what their social background, type of offence they committed or sentence they are serving. The idea of prison without bars began as an experiment; bars and locked doors were substituted with classrooms, workshops, computer labs and libraries. It is the first step in an experience which is attempting to transform the prisons into schools, based on the close relationship between the young inmates, their families and the social workers who are dealing with both. Several hundreds of inmates have already passed through this experience. The concept of this Centre has as its primary aim to be the vanguard in the project of converting the prison into a school, preparing the inmate for reincorporation into society. In its first three years, 114 of them have been paroled and only 5 have recommitted crimes. Some of the inmates are even taking university courses. These facts underline the validity and effectiveness of the new methods that are being used in the Centre. The daily work of the center’s teachers is outstanding, as are the efforts of a group of social workers, who use the knowledge obtained in their university studies in psychology, sociology and the humanities, to organize participative activities, attend to individual differences and, above all, forge a very close human link with the center’s young inmates. The connection that the social workers have with the families of the young inmates is also very important. On September 1, 2002, a new initiative in the field of re-education was begun; called ‘New Paths’, it includes 84 prisons and has seen to the installation of 1,076 TVs and 195 video sets which, on closed circuit, allow for the viewing of various material in the rooms that have been specially equipped. With the abovementioned actions and those that are presently underway, new hope is being offered to those individuals who on one given day made a mistake. Culture, participation and education have become the antidote against the hatred which tends to accumulate during the years of hardship and loss of liberty. Another very important programme included in ‘Task 500’, is the food plan. Its aim is to improve the inmates’, prison guards and security staff’s diet. This plan stimulates the prisons’ productive capacities to develop food production. It is important to bear in mind that Cuban prisons suffer the same hardships and food shortages as the rest of the Cuban population, owing to the prolonged and intensified US blockade on Cuba. Overcoming the effects of the blockade in prisons has been another reason for developing all of the abovementioned programmes, especially the food programme. The government is maintaining and redoubling its efforts to guarantee the logistic supplies to improve the living and working conditions of the inmates and those of prison employees. Supported in the revolutionary programmes that the country is developing as part of the Battle of Ideas, reaching right into the prisons, Task 500-2 is being developed; its main goal is the reincorporation of the majority of the inmate population back into society with a higher educational level and political formation and, in most cases, having learned a trade. A necessary comparison The positive work that is underway in Cuban prisons compares very favorably with the way in which the increasingly numerous, large, repressive and dehumanizing American jails function. US prisons are overcrowded, prisoners are badly treated and violence is the password of the day. Punishment is what characterizes the US prison system. US prisons hold 25% of all the world’s prisoners, this despite the fact that the total US population equals only 5% of the total inhabitants of this planet. Today, the US has seven times more convicts behind bars, than all the countries in Western Europe. The prison system is so brutal that, contrary to regulations of international law, current US law does not forbid chaining and manacling prisoners. The US is one of the seven countries in the world that, after 1990, has executed minors. In the richest country in the world, with a government that, reportedly, is trying to claim the title of world champion of freedom and democracy, 3,500 children are shut away in high security prisons with adult inmates. Twenty of the fifty states allow children to be imprisoned with adults. In many US prisons, prisoners are not allowed the basic right of conjugal visits. In many of the federal prisons, the conjugal visits pavilion is totally off limits, in open violation of this natural right of all human beings, whether they are jailed or not. In these prisons however, rape and other forms of sexual abuse are frequent occurrences and are viewed with complete indifference by the authorities. Prestigious American sociologists estimate that 1 in 5 American prisoners has been the victim of rape and as a consequence of this, the spread of HIV and AIDS has reached worrying levels. According to these sources, 29% of inmates who die in American jails do so as a result of AIDS, and not just because of the spread of the disease, but also due to a lack of treatment. According to experts in the US prison system’s situation, this country is seeing its prisons turning into veritable concentration camps, housing the unemployed, drug addicts, homeless, mentally ill and other marginal minorities. More than 60% of the inmates belong to minority racial and ethnic groups. Afro-Americans who make up 12 % of the total population, make up half of the prisons’ population and receive unrealistic sentences. The treatment received by US inmates degrades the human being, instead of trying to rescue these individuals. Of the two million inmates estimated today in US prisons, more than 120,000 are part of the Industrial Prison Complex. These are private prisons, a “good business proposition”, where the last thing of importance is the rehabilitation of the inmate or respect for their dignity. The US has seen a proliferation of this type of prison, and their administrators work hard at making the labour exploitation of a captive work force more profitable from one day to the next. They have reached such heights of nonsense as to sell shares for these private prisons on the stock exchange. It has justifiably been said that the second most important industry in the United States is the prison-building industry. More people are employed to build prisons than the total number of people working for gigantic transnational corporations such as General Motors. Powerful financial empires such as Merrill Lynch or Goldsman Sachs receive between 2 and 3,000,000,000 dollars each year in bonds for the construction of jails. The most tragic comment of all is that while the shares of these prison corporations rise in price on Wall Street, the fundamental rights of the inmates plummet –food, health services, living conditions--, these are cut back in order to decrease operating costs. Added to this shameful panorama is the wealth of information citing the fact that the CIA has illegally imprisoned and tortured presumed terrorists in foreign countries, some of whom are being held in secret jails in Eastern European countries. The Washington Post has affirmed that despite the scandal of the torturing of Iraqi prisoners in the prison of Abu Ghraib , the US continues mistreating its prisoners abroad and they added that in the secret prisons in Afghanistan and other countries and in the prisons administered by Washington’s allies, the CIA is holding dozens of prisoners completely removed from any legal processes, even keeping from their relatives the locations of these prisoners. In the past few months, details about the systematic humiliation and physical abuse inflicted upon these prisoners by the military police and by intelligence officers in the prisons under the jurisdiction of the occupational forces in Iraq are coming to light. Some members of the National Guard and “private contractors” who are under investigation for scandalous cases of torturing Iraqi prisoners were trained in US prisons. The situation in Cuban jails is far from the living hell of US jails, and yet it is this super-power which is sponsoring a motion unjustly censuring Cuba in the Commission on Human Rights. No concession is made to impunity in Cuban jails and promising opportunities are arising to improve the human condition. Little by little, the prisons are becoming schools; sport and culture create possibilities for the inmates to grow on a personal level; quality medical care is a guarantee in all of the establishments and, amid the difficulties caused by the economic blockade, the aim is to improve the living conditions in prisons. Cuba believes that the penitentiary system should serve to rescue human beings, to make them feel useful and dignified under the strict conditions of a prison. This system has established, and continues to improve, mechanisms to control and eradicate human aggressiveness and the most serious infringements of legal regulations. The Government and people of Cuba draw inspiration from Marti’s maxim: “teaching virtue is nobler than the useless study of deep social ills.”
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