Título II. Derechos, obligaciones y prohibiciones de las personas reclusas

Without prejudice to other fundamental rights granted to them by the Political Constitution of the Republic, international human rights conventions, treaties and covenants ratified by the State of Guatemala, ordinary laws and regulations of the Republic, every person subject to serving a penalty involving deprivation of liberty has the specific rights indicated by law.

The authorities of the penitentiary center have the obligation to inform the incarcerated person, at the time of their admission to the center, by means of a printed document in clear and simple form, of their fundamental rights and obligations, as well as the internal regime of the facility.

Where possible, the document shall be delivered to them in the language or tongue spoken by the incarcerated person.

In the case of illiterate or disabled persons, the information shall be provided in oral, simple and comprehensible form or by any other means. Likewise, they shall ensure adequate living conditions for incarcerated persons.

Persons deprived of liberty have the right to have every center of the Penitentiary System equipped with sanitary and hygienic facilities that allow them to preserve their physical and mental health.

Incarcerated persons have the right to regular medical care in a timely and free manner. For this purpose, preventive detention and conviction centers must have permanent general medicine, dentistry; psychology and psychiatry services, with their respective equipment. In case of seriousness or when incarcerated persons so request, they have the right to be assisted by private physicians, or to receive care in public and/or private institutions at their expense, upon prior favorable opinion of the forensic physician and of the Public Prosecutor's Office and with authorization from the respective judge, except in cases of extreme urgency in which they shall leave with authorization from the Director of the Center, who must notify the competent judge immediately. For treatment when it so requires. In addition, they may request infectious or contagious, a special area shall be provided, in order to contribute to their treatment and to protect the health of the other persons in the penitentiary center, in accordance with the physician's diagnosis.

Incarcerated persons have the right to have penitentiary public officials keep in reserve the file containing the diagnosis or medical treatment resulting from suffering from a stigmatizing disease, or which may cause a serious personal or family problem or a problem within the group of incarcerated persons, provided that the rights of others are not affected.

Incarcerated persons have the right to a sufficient dietary regimen in hygienic conditions. It is prohibited to add in any form or to supply in food substances that alter or diminish their psychic and physical capacities.

Incarcerated persons have the right and the duty to perform useful and remunerative work, which is not afflictive and which does not conceal a sanction. The State shall facilitate sources of work through the respective entities, guaranteeing rights in accordance with the general labor laws of the country.

Each penal center must have a library for incarcerated persons, which must have indispensable educational material for research, information, and their integral development.

Incarcerated persons have freedom of expression. They likewise have the right to submit petitions in their language, in accordance with the law.

Incarcerated persons have the right to communicate with family members and other persons. In the case of foreigners, they may also maintain communication with the diplomatic and/or consular representatives of their respective countries. The Penitentiary System shall facilitate the conditions for the exercise of this right.

Intimate visit and general visit.

Incarcerated persons have the right to receive an intimate visit of their spouse, cohabitant or partner, and a general visit of their family or friends. The authorities of the centers shall ensure that visits are carried out in special premises, suitable and dignified for such visits.

When it concerns an intimate visit, the spouse, cohabitant or partner must prove his or her majority of age. A general visit of boys, girls or adolescents shall be carried out only when kinship has been proven. For purposes of such visit, detention centers shall have special and suitable areas that guarantee the protection of childhood and adolescence.

All detention centers shall create and implement the Single Register and Control System for General Visits of Boys, Girls and Adolescents.

Incarcerated persons may receive general visits from girls, boys and adolescents only when they are their blood relatives within the degrees provided by law. For such purpose, girls, boys and adolescents with incarcerated parents –NNAPES– must be accompanied at all times by the adult person in charge of their care, who is responsible for their entry into, stay in and departure from the center.

When security conditions are not met or it is not proven that they are relatives within the degrees provided by law, as provided in this article, the Penitentiary System shall prohibit the entry of girls, boys and adolescents, enabling in the detention centers mechanisms for visits in virtual modality, adapting the conditions that render this resource feasible for the benefit of the incarcerated population and their family members.

Sole Register and Control System for General Visit of Boys, Girls and Adolescents.

The General Directorate of the Penitentiary System shall create and regulate a biometric system and use of surveillance cameras for the register and control of entry and exit of girls, boys and adolescents as visitors in detention centers. This system shall be reviewed and updated continuously.

The General Directorate of the Penitentiary System shall implement this System in coordination with the National Register of Persons –RENAP– and the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation. The public officials and public servants in charge of this System shall hold a certificate from the National Register of Sex Offenders –RENAS– in force.

Within a maximum time limit of eighteen (18) months, counted from the entry into force of this Law, the General Directorate of the Penitentiary System, under its strict liability, shall implement and bring into full operation the Sole Register and Control System for General Visit of Boys, Girls and Adolescents and any other register shall be absorbed by this Register. Upon entry into operation, entry of girls, boys and adolescents to detention centers by means of procedures, mechanisms or controls other than those provided for in this Law is prohibited.

Non-compliance with this provision shall give rise to liability on the part of public officials and public employees.

Incarcerated persons have the right to communicate with their defense counsel, without prejudice to their right of petition.

Their intervention in the incidents raised in relation to the execution and extinction of the penalty or other judicial proceedings or, as applicable, in matters of an administrative or disciplinary nature.

They shall also have the right to communicate privately with the execution judge and the Director of the Center to report any situation affecting their rights. Such communication shall take place in special departments that guarantee the privacy of the interviews. This right may not be suspended or interfered with under any circumstances.

Incarcerated persons have the right to be informed of the death or serious illness of a relative within the degrees established by law. Likewise, the authorities shall inform the relative or registered person whom the incarcerated person has designated of the illness, accident or death of such incarcerated person.

Incarcerated persons have the right to profess the religion or beliefs they deem appropriate, in accordance with the Political Constitution of the Republic. The penitentiary administration shall allow, through the respective regulations, the provision of religious assistance in all establishments and shall endeavor, according to its capacity, to provide at least one place intended for religious worship.

Incarcerated persons have the right to receive education and training at all academic levels. Certificates of approved studies shall not contain any indication denoting that they were incarcerated. Incarcerated persons who have in such manner passed the different levels of education and who are professionals or technicians that enable them to contribute to the educational regime of the center may participate as teachers or assistants, in remunerated form, for which purpose the Ministry of Education, the universities and other institutions may carry out the respective hirings and/or payments.

Incarcerated persons may collaborate in the development of penitentiary activities relating to education, work, culture, hygiene, food, rest, sports, religion and recreation.

Persons serving a sentence have the right to obtain permits to leave the penal centers, in accordance with the specific modalities of the penalty execution regime, provided that they meet the requirements required under this law and by means of a decision of the execution judge.

The penitentiary authorities have the obligation to design and execute programs and activities aimed at providing formal and informal training in the educational, labor, professional and personal development area of incarcerated persons, jointly with the latter, the incarcerated person has the right to participate in them in accordance with their interests and personal needs.

The authorities in preventive centers shall foster the development of educational, labor, sports and cultural activities, taking into account that persons held in preventive detention are deprived of their liberty only to the extent that serves to prevent their flight or the obstruction of the ascertainment of the truth. Consequently, they may not be deprived of their rights or powers nor compelled to perform penitentiary activities other than those linked to the purpose of their detention. A person held in preventive detention has the right to be treated as innocent. The permits referred to in Article 27 may be granted by the competent judge.

Persons sentenced to the death penalty shall remain in spaces specially designated for them in the conviction centers, with respect for their fundamental rights being guaranteed.

If a riot or serious disturbances of order occur in the establishments of the Penitentiary System, the director or female director of each center shall take the necessary provisions to preserve the life, physical integrity and property of persons, especially those of visitors and of staff members, and may therefore temporarily suspend the exercise of certain activities and restrict total or partial access for visitors, in order to restore order in the establishment. The measures adopted shall be communicated immediately to the General Directorate of the Penitentiary System, to the competent judge for confirmation or modification thereof, and to the Human Rights Ombudsman.

Every incarcerated person has the obligation to comply with and respect:

a)The authorities, penitentiary laws and regulations.

b)The rights of other incarcerated persons, penitentiary personnel and all other persons with whom they interact.

c)The provisions that, within the legal framework, they receive from the authorities of the penitentiary facility.

d)The hierarchy established in the center for service of sentence or preventive detention for the submission of their requests or petitions,

e)Hygiene, order, security, discipline and good customs within the facility.

f)To report to the authorities any humiliation, abuse or exactions in order to establish the corresponding liability; and,

g)The activities and schedules contemplated in the respective regulation.

Incarcerated persons are prohibited from keeping within the facility:

a)Weapons of any type or kind;

b)Alcoholic beverages, drugs or narcotics of any kind;

c)Prohibited medications. Possession thereof may be permitted in special cases of medical treatment, under the control and supervision of the physicians of the penitentiary center;

d)Valuable objects for personal use such as jewelry or similar items;

e)Money in amounts exceeding their personal expenses; and,

f)Radio-communication devices and/or cellular telephones.

The center shall guarantee the safekeeping of the property referred to in this article.