Uruguay's Inisa ordered to pay $37,000 for security failures during prison riot

The National Institute for Adolescent Social Inclusion (Inisa) in Uruguay faces a significant financial penalty after a court ordered it to pay around US$37,000 to two employees. These workers suffered threats and physical assault during a five-hour riot at the Sarandí Center in the former Colonia Berro in August 2021.

The ruling, issued by Judge Alejandro Martínez de las Heras, also found the institute accountable for procedural missteps in its internal investigation of the incident. One former subdirector will receive US$20,000, while another will be awarded US$17,000, plus legal interest.

The riot began when three inmates, armed with makeshift weapons, overpowered staff during dinner distribution. In total, 11 inmates participated, with one taken hostage and another subjected to humiliation and physical abuse. The female employee was violently grabbed and pushed, while other staff faced threats and potential attacks with sharp objects. At the time, 19 adolescents were housed in the facility with only seven staff members present.

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Inisa's defense argued it does not operate under a prison security model but rather a socio-educational one, and that available resources contained the situation. They also claimed the employees, as supervisors, had prevention duties. However, the judge dismissed these arguments, stating the socio-educational mission does not absolve Inisa of its responsibility to ensure the safety of both adolescents and staff. The court noted that the risks, including the inmates' ability to fashion weapons and the inadequacy of staffing during cell openings, were known and documented, not merely hypothetical.

The sentence also criticized Inisa's post-riot actions, specifically mentioning an administrative sanction for failing to follow an "unwritten protocol" in June 2022, though details of this were cut off in the provided text.

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