26 in Uruguay detention center face trial for torture
Prosecutors in Uruguay plan to try 26 people linked to a juvenile detention center in the Latin American nation for involvement in the alleged torture of four youths in a prison beating incident.
In a Friday ruling, however, a judge stated that only 17 of the 26 will be kept in custody during the trial while the other nine would be released pending the outcome of the legal proceedings, according to AFP.
The legal action was taken after the broadcast of video footage showing the beating incident had sparked public outrage across the country, reported AFP citing a defense attorney.
The defense lawyer, identified as Anibal Martinez Chader, further explained that while the 17 defendants face torture charges, the other nine will be tried as accomplices.
The development came after media outlets across Uruguay broadcast the video piece showing the beating and mistreatment of four young inmates at the Montevideo detention facility by more than 30 individuals back in July.
"What the prosecution understands is that (what happened) fits within the legal framework of torture," said prosecutor Adriana Umpierrez in a Thursday press briefing about the case, insisting that "there was cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment."
According to the report, among those in the prison beating video was vice president of Uruguay's largest union PIT-CNT, Jose Lorenzo Lopez, who is also the president of a workers union for the country's Children and Adolescent Institute, which is involved with the Montevideo youth detention center.
Lopez, who is among those that will be tried out of prison, was placed under provisional dismissal following the incident, the report adds.
The convicted in the case will face prison terms of between 20 months and eight years.
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