The nearest and dearest of the six youths arrested for exhibitionism after their nude parading up and down Ave. Abraham Lincoln in an SUV on Sunday evening are rallying to their defense. Some relatives are alleging that the accused are being kept in their cells naked, and that they are being denied visiting rights. The six young men have been under arrest for the legal 48-hour period, after which formal charges should be filed and the right to post bail granted. One of the parents of the detainees visited the offices of Diario Libre newspaper to explain that his son’s behavior had been affected by childhood meningitis, and that they were considering the services of a psychologist to help him with his problems. The police are still investigating the case, and are awaiting the results of drug tests carried out on the youths, which Diario Libre says their sources say were negative.
The newspaper also continues to make the point that there were seven youths, not six, involved in the incident. In a report yesterday, Diario Libre showed a photograph with a Presidential Palace tag hanging from rear view mirror, which has led to speculation that the seventh offender could be the offspring of a government employee.