Correction: Guatemala Hospital Abuse Story

GUATEMALA CITY – In a story Nov. 30 about allegations of abuse at a Guatemalan psychiatric hospital, The Associated Press reported erroneously that 300 children were found held in isolation there. The rights group Disability Rights International says it found a total population of about 340 patients but saw only a few in isolation, including a teenager. The story also said that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights participated in the investigation. Two rights groups conducted the investigation, then submitted their findings to the commission.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Human rights groups say they found women and children subjected to abuse at a public psychiatric hospital in Guatemala's capital.

The investigation was conducted by the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala and Disability Rights International, and the findings were submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Executive Director Nery Rodenas said Friday that the probe found patients in the Federico Mora hospital suffering from a lack of medical attention, along with abuse by staff and inmates from a neighboring prison who were allowed into the hospital. The commission called for Guatemala to swiftly address conditions in the hospital.

Investigators found more than 300 children and adults at the facility. It said it found that newly admitted minors were kept in isolation cells, and patients in locked cells had died of preventable diseases due to lack of medical attention.