[*Declaration of the SAT

11/04/2016*]

“Andres Bodalo has started a hunger strike for being persecuted in prison.

Yesterday evening Andres Bodalo started a hunger strike to protest for being victim of persecution these last months. Bodalo, who had to be hospitalized twice for his heart disease, had to share his jail cell with a prisoner sentenced for homicide.

On top of this difficult cohabitation, he has been humiliated and threatened by a civil servant of the prison who allowed himself to tell Bodalo in front of his children : “Here you are going to have a bad time”.

That same civil servant of the prison, on the occasion of one of the numerous cohabitation issues, took sides against Bodalo pretending a lack of respect. Andres was hence punished with 15 days in an isolation cell followed by 3 months of rehabilitation, which means that he will not be able to obtain the semi-liberty regime in January.

Although innocent and unjustly imprisoned, Andres Bodalo kept an exemplary behavior. In spite of this, he has been harassed, humiliated and persecuted. Let’s highlight that this punishment arrives “right in time” to prevent him obtaining the semi-liberty regime.

Here it is no more about an unjustly imprisoned innocent but about a man exposed to abusive treatment that any human would denounce. Despite of this, Andres remained calm and silent, suffering all provocations without falling into the trap, so that they had to invent an alleged “lack of respect” to double his punishment and make him miss the possible advantage of the semi-liberty regime.

Considering his situation, he found himself forced to start a hunger strike. However, the union wants to remind that Andres is not in optimal health conditions. On the contrary he suffers from severe heart problems that could be worsened by a hunger strike. We hold the prison authorities responsible of the possible worsening of Andres’ health condition.

That is why we, all trade unionists of the country, will gather in front of the prison door to require his release again.”