TNAG-1276-FCO40-1626-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 197

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Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Physical punishments are not administered as sentences for crimes. The Paraguayan police are reliably reported to mistreat prisoners during the early stages of detention, but prominent political detainees seem less subject to such mistreatment. Conditions are poor in police stations where most detainees first are held. In most cases, once formal charges are presented to the courts, detainees are transferred to regular prison facilities, where conditions are generally better. There were no specific, new reports in 1982 of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment during detention in regular prison facilities. Court officials visit regular prison facilities each year and interview detainees.

e. Arbitrary Arrest and Imprisonment

The Paraguayan Constitution has permitted the Government to impose a state of siege almost without interruption since 1929. The state of siege effectively suspends habeas corpus and the right of legal counsel and permits the Government to detain suspects arbitrarily for indefinite periods of time. Although the state of siege was lifted except for the capital in 1978, the courts have ruled that prisoners may be moved to Asuncion and held there. Police authorities often act as though the state of siege were still in force throughout Paraguay. The state of siege provision in the Constitution is supplemented by Law 209, the elastic "anti-subversive" statute, although defendants prosecuted under this law enjoy the rights to habeas corpus and legal counsel.

There was a marked increase in 1982 in the number of persons detained arbitrarily. While some of these detentions lasted from only a few hours to several days, some 400 persons were held without charges for periods of up to six weeks during April and May of 1982 in connection with a murder investigation.

As of December 29, 1982, there were 55 prisoners with plausible claims to political prisoner status. Included in this group were 36 of the 38 persons arrested in early 1982 for alleged communist activities. They were held for over three months before being charged formally with violations of Paraguay's anti-subversive Law 209 and submitted to regular judicial proceedings. Two of the 55 are members of the proscribed Communist Party who have been jailed, respectively, since 1979 and 1980. Seventeen were detained without formal charges under the state of siege. Apart from these, non-governmental human rights observers consider that another twelve prisoners are being held for reasons which may be affected in part by political factors. Prisoner releases in 1982 included Eugenio Ocampos Llama, detained without charges since 1981, and journalist Ramon Santiago Moreno, detained without charges for four months.

In its 1982 report for 1981, Amnesty International noted among its concerns in Paraguay: arbitrary arrest, detention without trial and torture.

£. Denial of Fair Public Trial

Paraguayan legal proceedings are reported in the press and are in formal accord with the Paraguayan Constitution. The judiciary is subject to executive and military influence however, and fair trials generally are not possible in cases involving political figures. Although the accused enjoy legal counsel of their own choosing, all judges are members of the ruling Colorado Party. In a number of cases, including ten persons held since March 1980 in connection with an armed attack on a bus, prisoners are held for lengthy periods of time while the courts consider the allegations. In cases where political factors may be involved, but where civil or criminal law may have been violated, the accused can expect to spend many months in prison before a verdict is rendered. Civilian