Inmates 'control' Honduras jails, according to a new report

The Honduras government has effectively given up on rehabilitating criminals and let prisons to be controlled by their inmates. That's according to a new report by the Inter-American Commission on Human rights, which also said the country's prisons were impoverished, overcrowded and corrupt. The report adds that the inmates, many who often belong to the country's most violent criminal gangs, set the rules and enforce physical punishments themselves, also saying that women share prisons with men and are often victims of abuse. Official government figures show that more than 12,000 people in Honduras are currently incarcerated in prisons which were built for just 8,000. Commission spokesman Escobar Gil said: "The prison system in Honduras is dehumanized, miserly and corrupt", adding "It is essential that the state take on this crisis in the prison system as one of its priorities, because the system has totally collapsed. The report highlighted a lack of staffing, resources and organization, saying the government had abandoned its responsibilities towards funding and rehabilitation programs. The authorities are yet to comment on the reports findings.