Inside Panama's La Joya prison

Inside Panama's La Joya prison

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As Panama reels from outrage at legal loopholes that help the world's wealthy hide their cash, inmates at the capital's La Joya prison are paying a heavy price for flaws elsewhere in the Central American nation's justice system.

Housed in makeshift cells because of heavy overcrowding, living in grimy conditions and with limited medical attention, many prisoners languish for years without being sentenced.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

A 2014 report by Open Society Foundations found Panama had the world's highest pre-trial detention rate as a percentage of the country's wider population.

"There is no limit to pre-trial detention" in practice, said Juan Carlos Arauz, a Panamanian lawyer and vice president of the National College of Lawyers. He said more than 60 percent of the prison population has not been sentenced.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso
An inmate couple kiss and joke at the transgender gallery.

Under rules being phased out by September, pre-trial detention was limited to the minimum sentence for which a detainee could be liable for a given crime. But in practice, authorities have not always complied.

In the new system being implemented, pre-trial detention will be capped at one year and detainees can apply for bail, with any time served in pre-trial detention counting toward their eventual sentence.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Panama was thrust into the limelight earlier this month when documents leaked from a local law firm exposed offshore financial dealings of the world's rich and famous.

Since then, France has said it will blacklist Panama, Iceland's prime minister has stepped down over the revelations and Panama's government has vowed to share tax information with other nations to prevent evasion.

But problems with Panama's legal system run much deeper.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Prisons have sometimes "life-threatening" conditions, according to a 2014 report by the U.S. State Department, which cited deadly prison fights and too few guards.

"The only thing I want is to be handed my sentence," said Alvis Javier, a Panamanian who has been imprisoned without a conviction for six years in La Joya, on the outskirts of Panama City, for suspected drug possession.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Javier is studying for a secondary school certificate and lives in a cell in the prison's transgender unit, where inmates draw curtains over their bunks for privacy. One inmate at the prison showed off a life-size, full-breasted inflatable sex toy.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Carlos Fuentes, who was jailed for falsifying his ID card, has been stuck in La Joya, Spanish for "The Jewel," for almost 2 years awaiting sentencing. "There are a lot of us here in this situation," he said.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso
A Dutch inmate Petrus sits in his provisional cell at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners.

The government has been moving foreign inmates to a new prison, La Nueva Joya, to cut down on overcrowding, prisoners said.

Gabriel Pinzon, director of Panama's prisons system, said the cellblock at La Joya that foreign prisoners have vacated would be repaired and remodeled.

"We see some factors related to the volume of cases, which at times impacts the judicial (process), which we are currently trying to combat," he added, referring to pre-trial detention times.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

A reform approved in 2008, which takes effect in Panama's major urban areas in September, will give defence attorneys a more equal playing field and will limit pre-trial detention to up to a year, Arauz said.

. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

However, inmates detained under the prior system will have to have their cases processed under the old rules, he noted.

Nevertheless, the new rules will eventually help cut down on overcrowding and pre-trial detentions, Arauz said, pointing to parts of Panama where they have already been implemented.

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Slideshow

Inmates transport food supplies.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmates transport food supplies.

Inmate Robert Maximiliam, a Polish-Canadian, stands on his allotment at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmate Robert Maximiliam, a Polish-Canadian, stands on his allotment at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners.

Maximiliam said: "I'm a healer. I use plants as a medicine to help others. I'm here by mistake, they accuse me of drug trafficking but I'm innocent, someone put drugs in my bag at the airport."
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Maximiliam said: "I'm a healer. I use plants as a medicine to help others. I'm here by mistake, they accuse me of drug trafficking but I'm innocent, someone put drugs in my bag at the airport."

Magazine pages are seen on the ceiling of a cell.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Magazine pages are seen on the ceiling of a cell.

Inmate Alvis Javier sleeps in his cell inside the transgender gallery.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmate Alvis Javier sleeps in his cell inside the transgender gallery.

Inmates spend time inside their cell at the transgender gallery.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmates spend time inside their cell at the transgender gallery.

Inmate Angel Hurtado, 23, spends time with with his cell mates at the transgender gallery. Hurtado said: "I regret my mistakes. I'm here because of a robbery and this is not a nice place."
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmate Angel Hurtado, 23, spends time with with his cell mates at the transgender gallery. Hurtado said: "I regret my mistakes. I'm here because of a robbery and this is not a nice place."

Inmate Miguel Anguel Quiros poses for a photograph with his cat at the transgender gallery.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmate Miguel Anguel Quiros poses for a photograph with his cat at the transgender gallery.

An inmate looks at his toilet in his cell at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

An inmate looks at his toilet in his cell at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners.

An inmate stands in one of the shops at the Pavilion No.6.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

An inmate stands in one of the shops at the Pavilion No.6.

Inmates play a board game at the Pavilion No.6.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmates play a board game at the Pavilion No.6.

Inmate Ubaldo Marcus, 36, shows his secondary school certificates inside his cell at the transgender gallery. Marcus was  sentenced for drug trafficking. He moved to the transgender gallery after a dispute about money in his previous gallery.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmate Ubaldo Marcus, 36, shows his secondary school certificates inside his cell at the transgender gallery. Marcus was sentenced for drug trafficking. He moved to the transgender gallery after a dispute about money in his previous gallery.

Inmate Miguel Lopez, who is HIV positive, cooks in the transgender gallery.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmate Miguel Lopez, who is HIV positive, cooks in the transgender gallery.

An inmate washes himself.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

An inmate washes himself.

Inmates work out at the Pavilion No.6.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

Inmates work out at the Pavilion No.6.

A Bible is seen at the transgender gallery.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

A Bible is seen at the transgender gallery.

An inmate reads the Bible as he stands inside his cell at the transgender gallery.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

An inmate reads the Bible as he stands inside his cell at the transgender gallery.

A cross is painted on a wall.
. Panama City, PANAMA. Reuters/Carlos Jasso

A cross is painted on a wall.