Minutes before regaining his freedom, José Ignacio V. stopped by the radio of the Liberté community to share his experience. After five years and three months at Unit 15 of Batán, he regained his freedom on May 27, 2026. In his final weeks he joined Liberté, the self-managed space that operates inside the prison.
There he carried out various tasks alongside other people in prison, with the support of the Cooperativa Liberté and of the organizations that sustain the project from the outside: Víctimas por la Paz, SAJuR and the Universidad Liberté. These were his words on the air.
Five years and three months, seeking freedom
I've been detained for five years and three months now. I'm in the final stretch, seeking my release. Coming through Liberté helped me a lot to put together the complete report so I could obtain the benefit of parole.
A place of more freedom
Here I found a little more freedom, space, peace of mind. In the tasks I took on I came across very positive people, who support this feeling of being detained. We're all in the same place and, for better or worse, we always try to find a suitable spot to stay calm and not get stressed.
I'm very grateful to all these people and to this project. It's the chance to have the will to come to work, get out a bit, clear your head with different tasks and have some free time outside the cell block.
Caring for one another
The controls exist. It's not only the Prison Service ones around this Liberté area: there are also the controls of the people who are on the inside. We try to keep a balanced system, of life, of conduct, of access to the tools that Liberté offers, in order to move toward the evolution we're after: seeking change.
A project that can go far
To me it seems a very important and delicate project within the prison system. It's a place of more freedom, where you have different tasks and you feel a little more outside the prison. Together with the divergent project, the cooperative and the people who support it inside and outside the prison, I feel it can go very far if they keep moving forward in unity.
I think the Courts already know it and the Service takes it into account. This is advancing, and together you can always advance more. It will go far if they keep it up. Thank you very much, and I hope it turns out that way.
Interview by Miguel Ángel M., broadcast on the radio of the Liberté community, at Unit 15 of Batán.
