602
Many confessional denominations conduct their activities freely but a few religious groups have difficulty in obtaining government acquiescence for their operations.
In 1982, there was a marked increase in the number of detentions, for periods lasting from a few hours to several weeks, during which the detainees usually were held incommunicado and without charges. There were no killings for political motives and no disappearances are known to have occurred. The Government frequently prevents or harasses meetings organized by opposition political groups, whether or not they are recognized juridically as political parties. Government also continues to deny passports to citizens identified as hostile to the regime, and it has refused to permit the return of Paraguayan dissidents now living in exile, while deporting others.
The
Recognized opposition politicians are sometimes able to air their views through radio broadcasts but almost never appear on television. The unrecognized opposition has no access to the electronic media. The newspaper El Pueblo, the organ of the Febrerista Revolutionary Party, was permitted to resume
Freedom publication in 1982 after a ban of almost two years. House, in its 1982 report for 1981, classified Paraguay as Partly Free.
In
The number of political prisoners and the incidence of gross violations of individual and human rights have decreased sharply since the mid-1970's, when armed guerrilla groups attempted to gain a foothold in Paraguay's rural areas. 1977, it was estimated that some 600 persons had a possible claim to political prisoner status because they were being detained arbitrarily. The number of long-term detainees shrank to around 30 by 1980, and it has fluctuated since between 20 and 70. These figures include cases which involved violations of civil or criminal law but where political factors would seem to have been involved. Amnesty International's 1982 report, covering 1981, states that there were "some 25 political prisoners at the end of 1981.*
The situation in Paraguay continues to be characterized by the subordination of the judicial and legislative branches of government to the executive, and the frequent circumvention of the Constitution's civil and political liberties through invocation of its state of siege provision.
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1.
Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
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a. Killing
No killing for political motives or killing by government or opposition political organizations for other motives occurred during 1982.
b.
Disappearance
No case of disappearance is known to have occurred during 1982.
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Torture
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The Paraguayan Constitution specifically quarantees the protection of the physical integrity of the individual. However, allegations of the use of torture by police authorities to obtain information still surface occasionally. The number of allegations increased in 1982 primarily in connection with a case involving a group of alleged communists. Most of the group charged that they were under physical and mental duress when they signed confessions. Charges of torture are neither acknowledged nor refuted by the Government, and no known investigations or disciplinary actions have been taken against officials in cases of alleged torture.
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