Right to adequate food, health, and dignity for deprived of liberty

 

José Ángel Parra Bernal & others v. INPEC (Spanish abbreviation for National Penitentiary and Prison Institute) & others

Date:  06/06/2019

Judge-Rapporteur:  Antonio José Lizarazo Ocampo

Facts.  The plaintiffs, inmates held in the Metropolitan Prison and Penitentiary Complex of Bogotá (COMEB), asserted that the food they are provided in reclusion is unhealthy, unbalanced, and prepared by themselves, without attending adequate hygiene criteria.

Issue: Do inmates have the right to appropriate and healthy food in prison?

Ruling and reasoning.  Yes.  The Court maintained that due to the special dependent relationship between the persons deprived of liberty and the State, it is the responsibility of the authorities to provide the inmates with appropriate food to ensure the guarantee of their fundamental right to health and to live with dignity.

As a result, the Court GRANTED the protection, and ordered the competent authorities to take suitable and necessary measures so the petitioners are supplied with adequate food, observing a dietary plan.  Likewise, they are ordered to monitor and control the conditions of handling and delivering of food to the inmates, according to appropriate nutritional requirements and hygienical protocol standards.