Prisoner died in Barrientos Prison: relatives and colleagues protested at the facilities

A female prisoner at Barrientos Prison in Tlalnepantla, State of Mexico, died last Saturday afternoon, March 19 inside the prison facilities after having been treated by medical personnel working there; her companions mutinied to demand that the situation be clarified, while their relatives protested outside the compound.

Nohemí “N” was found lifeless inside her cell after attending a medical consultation hours before her death, in addition to having been taken by prison personnel to a laboratory the day before to have an ultrasound performed, in order to treat acute pain in her abdomen.

According to information provided by the Ministry of Public Security of the State of Mexico (SSP), the prisoner died of respiratory arrest due to the diseases she suffered, which were identified by the authorities after an autopsy was performed on her body.

“A first prognosis indicates that his death was the result of chronic, alithiasic cholecystitis, bilateral renal lithiasis and diffuse inflammatory bowel disease. It is important to note that prior to the regrettable event, on March 18, the inmate was accompanied by custodial staff, to perform an ultrasound in order to rule out acute abdominal pain that had not had a favorable evolution,” the SSP reported.

After finding the lifeless body of Nohemí “N”, inmates from the prison alerted the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Attorney General of the State of Mexico (FGJEM), who went to the scene to gather evidence at the scene and transfer the woman's body to their premises.

Nohemí's companions started a mutiny in protest at the death of the woman, as reported by the SSP itself:

“As a result of this fact, some women deprived of liberty set fire to a mattress, so the Grey Code (Fire) was activated, the fire was extinguished and the situation in the female bedroom 6 was controlled. It should be noted that the prison operates in complete order,” the statement read.

For their part, the relatives of the deceased demonstrated outside the penitentiary, demanding clarification of the facts and stipulating a mechanism to ensure rapid action against prisoners who show a deterioration in their health; the authorities assured that they have been provided with “all the information and facilities”.

The macabre discovery of the body of a three-month-old baby, eight dead prisoners, 62 wounded and 13 detained officials are the figures left by the three incidents in Mexican prisons recorded so far in 202 2, data that reflect the harsh picture faced by thousands of people deprived of their liberty in the System Mexico Penitentiary.

“The situation of the prison system is disastrous,” said the former director of Prevention and Social Readaptation of Cereso de Colima, José Abel Saucedo Romero, when he spoke of the mutiny in which eight prisoners lost their lives and seven more were injured, the third major incident occurred in Mexican prisons in the first 25 days of the year.

The self-government of the prisoners, the overcrowding to which they are subjected on most occasions and the conflicts arising from the operation of various mafias inside prisons are the causes that, according to the security expert, led the inmates to star in a mutiny this Tuesday, January 25, in which firearms were used and knives.

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