Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

More than 40 Jamaicans now imprisoned in Panama are begging the Jamaican Government for help.

They say the Panamanian prisons are dehumanising and it appears that Jamaican authorities have forgotten them.

One man who is facing a lengthy sentence after he was allegedly found with traces of cocaine and heroine in his luggage yesterday painted a damning picture of conditions in the La Joya Prison where he is awaiting his day in court.

Scant meals

"This morning (Monday), they gave us coffee and one slice of bread; in the afternoon; white rice and one sausage and in the evening; white rice and horse meat," he said.

He was supported by another prisoner who claimed that they are forced to drink water from a river that flows through the prison.

The prisoners who spoke with The Gleaner accepted that some of the 41 Jamaicans serving time in Panama were guilty of trying to smuggle drugs.

"Most people try drugs because them desperate and now you have one Jamaican serving all of eight years after he was held with three pounds of weed," the prisoner claimed.

The prisoners pointed to the frequent international condemnation of conditions in Panamanian prisons and urged the Jamaican authorities to assist them.

"You have some countries which pull their nationals and take them home to serve their sentences because of the poor condition of these prisons. Why our Government can't do that?" one prisoner asked.

A 2007 United States Human Rights Report on Panama claimed that prison conditions remained harsh, and in some cases life-threatening.

According to the US report, which was published in March, most of the problems stemmed from overcrowding as the prison system, which has an official capacity of 7,213 persons, was holding 11,748.

That report also claimed that abuse by prison guards was a recurrent problem while inmates at La Joya and La Joyita had access to potable water only 12 hours each day.

Abuse

Yesterday, Jamaica's honorary consul to Panama, Rebeca Matalon Castel, said she was doing all she could to assist the prisoners.

"Sometimes, their families bring food and other personal items and I take it to them, but sometimes they want you to take items such as microwaves into the prisons and that is not allowed," Matalon Castel told The Gleaner from her office in Panama City.

Yesterday, the state minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr Ronald Robinson, said the ministry was not aware of the complaints.

He said he would be asking the honorary consul to examine the issue before making further comment on the matter.

It has since been confirmed that the person The Gleaner spoke with at the consulate in Panama was not Matalon Castel. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.