Marcela Alejandra Porco, a 23-year-old Argentine citizen, who has a long history of psychiatric illness, is being held in solitary confinement in Palmasola Women’s Prison, Santa Cruz, without access to adequate medical treatment. Since her arrest on 2 June 1994 her mental and physical condition has deteriorated dramatically. It is reported that she may die soon if her condition remains unattended. Fellow prisoners are staging a hunger-strike to put pressure on the authorities to move her to a hospital.
