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Since Nov. 11, a group of female political prisoners, who remain imprisoned in El Buen Pastor Prison in Bogotá, Colombia, have been on hunger strike to protest against unconstitutional measures taken by the Ministry of Justice.
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According to information published by Radio 360, nineteen female political prisoners have completed 10 days of hunger strike. So far, five of them have been hospitalized due to their health conditions.
Their protest began when the prisoners knew that their pavilion will be transformed into maternity facilities.
If this project is accomplished, political prisoners would be transferred to facilities in which they should remain locked in small cells, which implies a deterioration in their living conditions.
Currently, the 19 hunger strikers are confined in a relatively large space, in which they have access to a dining room, a court, and a machine room.
Through an open letter signed on Nov. 17, the political prisoners held that the Ministry's decision "besides putting our lives at risk, our physical, mental and emotional integrity is a blow to our dignity and ignorance of our status as political prisoners."
They also highlighted that their transfer will hinder the processing of their requests before the Special Jurisdiction of Peace.
Until Tuesday it was known that four of the strikers were already hospitalized. However, the Ministry of Justice has not ruled on her petitions and the prison authorities have placed obstacles to an adequate medical follow-up, according to the strikers' public letter.
The prisoners affirmed that they will continue their hunger strike until the Ministry of Justice retracts their transfer to other facilities.
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