Ecuador - October 2022

Violence in prisons has left 29 persons deprived of their liberty dead and dozens injured, in only three days. The UN’s Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture has expressed concern over what it deems is a crisis in the penitentiary system, where self-government has fostered an environment prone to multiple human rights violations. 

Since 2021, seven mass killings in different prisons have taken place in Ecuador. While the government argues that violence between gangs in prison has been a main contributing factor to this, lack of effective government policy to address this issue has been widely criticized.  

A state of emergency decreed in August has been extended in several regions until October. On 1 November, a curfew was established in the Guayas and Esmeralda regions, in response to a new wave of violence linked to the transfer of prisoners.

Sources: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, DW (1), DW (2) Dialogo Americas, Teleamazonas (1), Teleamazonas (2), The Guardian