Police callousness as youths burned may have international ramifications
(Newsroompanama.com) A report on the burning deaths of three young people locked in a jail cell while police stood by, one calling “let them die” may have international ramifications for Panama.
Three youths died during the past week and another four are seriously injured because of burns received during a fire at a Youth Correction Center in Tocumen.
The National Child Advocacy Network is preparing a report on the incident for the Committee on Child Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.
The fire occures on January 9, at the juvenile detention center in Tocumen, where minors between the ages of 15 and 17 are serving sentences for various crimes.
Local television stations broadcast images of the teenagers screaming in pain and pleading for help. Two policemen standing by mocked them, with one calling out: "They aren’t even young men…let them die."
Roderick Chaverri, president of the child advocacy group said that the Panamanian government has signed several agreements related to the Rights of the Child and the report will have international implications.
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Original Source: Newsroompanama.com
Date Retrieved: January 16, 2011.
