[prisoner-rights] Serbia: New IHF report on places of detention

Sofia, Vienna, 24 January 2006. The International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights (IHF) and seven partner Helsinki Committees released a report
concerning Places of Detention in Serbia today.

On 30 and 31 May 2005, representatives of the International Helsinki
Federation for Human Rights (IHF) conducted a monitoring mission on places
of detention in the Republic of Serbia.

Institutions, which the IHF delegation visited included: 

- District Prison in Belgrade
6c- Prison Hospital in Belgrade
- Penitentiary Reformatory for Juveniles in Valjevo
- Penitentiary Reformatory in Požarevac
- Penitentiary Reformatory for Women in Požarevac
- Penitentiary Reformatory in Niš
- Psychiatric Hospital in Gornja Topaonica
- Special Institution for children and juveniles with intellectual
disabilities in Stamnica

The Serbian authorities and the staff in all visited institutions we6cre
for the most part cooperative during the delegations’ visits. Drawing from
their findings, the members of the IHF mission formulated a number of
recommendations on ways of improving the existing conditions of the
facilities visited. In the course of this investigation, the IHF found the
following shortcomings:

In the Ministry of Justice facilities, the IHF delegation found that the
Serbian system does not adequately deal with complaints about
ill-treatment. The existing procedures for dealing with cases of torture
and ill-treatment should be reviewed in order to ensure that whenever
injuries recorded by a doctor are consistent with allegations of
ill-treatment, the information is brought to the attention of the relevant
authorities. When suspicions of ill-treatment are raised, doctors should
not only record the information, but also notify the prison governor and
prison administration and not wait if/until the victim lodges a complaint.
Medical care in the prisons does not comply with the standards of the
national health care system and is of a poor quality. Furthermore, both
quality and quantity of food for juveniles should be improved.

Medical services in the institutions of the Ministry of Justice should
comply with the standards of the national health care system. As of now
doctors and other medical staff are still under the supervision of the
Ministry of Justice, it is highly recommended that doctors and other
medical staff be placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Health.
The physicians should regularly visit the closed units and solitary
confinements.

The IHF delegation also observed that prison governors have a wide range
of powers, which should be narrowed and made subject to control. The
delegation recommends further that the Serbian government take steps to
fight corruption in the prisons. All inmates need to have better material
conditions, without the exchange of any favours or financial
contributions.

Overcrowding in most of the prisons visited has a serious impact, not only
on everyday life in the cell, but also restricts the time assigned to each
prisoner for outside activities.

One of the major problems in several institutions visited is that some
cells, and most of the segregation and punishment cells, were constructed
in a way that does not provide access to natural light and fresh air.

The regime of increased security in the juvenile prison, which is applied
in the cells, does not allow the inmates to engage in any useful
activities, so they spend several months or even years without any
engagement, except for a 30 minute walk per day, which is even less than
is granted by the law. What is more, the lack of a meaningful activity and
education for minors needs to be addressed more effectively.

The state of bathrooms and toilettes in the closed institutions was of a
low standard. Overall, the sanitary facilities in the prisons should be
thoroughly renovated. The IHF delegation recommends that the authorities
take appropriate measures to guarantee the access to running water in each
cell. In addition to this, the inmates must be provided with everything
necessary for the maintenance of their personal hygiene.

The IHF delegations noted on several occasions that the premises where
food is prepared and served are dirty, which is unacceptable and should be
solved as soon as possible.

The control of inmates’ written correspondence to private persons as well
as to official institutions is restrictive and inappropriate. Inmates
writing letters of complaint must hand these, without envelopes, to prison
officers. These then forward the letters to the courts. The content of
complaint letters is thus easily accessible to prison personnel, which
makes it extremely difficult for the detainees to raise complaints.

Another matter of concern is the lack of external control over the prison
institutions. Bodies independent of the Ministry of Justice should be
established to oversee prison establishments.

Finally, the Serbian authorities should help the institutions to find
financial resources in order to function properly.

In facilities run by the Ministry of Health the IHF delegation observed
that the Serbian system of involuntary treatment in a psychiatric hospital
as established by law and as applied in practice is a gross miscarriage of
justice and a violation of international standards of personal freedom and
due process. The law should call for a procedure to seek informed consent
for treatment from patients, who have been involuntarily detained. Also an
additional procedure to evaluate the capacity of a patient to give
informed consent to his or her treatment should be installed. The
procedure for civil commitment to a psychiatric institution for active
treatment in Serbia and Montenegro should be brought in line with the
international standards.

The delegation was disturbed upon seeing that patients were restrained in
front of the other patients. When a patient is nonetheless restrained, a
record of restraint should be rigorously kept in separate journal.
Seclusion and restraint in psychiatric institutions should also be
regulated by law. A

All patients should be ensured at least one-hour of outdoor exercise.
Diverse activities should be offered to the patients and measures should
be taken for their de-institutionalization.

In facilities run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Care the IHF
observed that the existing number of employed personnel is insufficient to
provide adequate care to the residents. More professional personnel needs
to be employed.

Some of the residents live in good material conditions, but there seems to
be no hope for their re-socialisation. The question of residents’ pensions
should be clarified, as the current status can lead to arbitrariness,
risking the residents’ rights and welfare in the long run.

This was the fifth mission conducted under the project, “Preventing
Torture in the Closed Institutions of Central and Eastern Europe”,
financed by the European Commission. The delegation included
representatives from the following organizations (in alphabetical order):
Bulgarian Helsinki Committee; Greek Helsinki Monitor; Helsinki Committee
for Human Rights in Serbia; Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the
Republic of Macedonia; Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland;
Hungarian Helsinki Committee; International Helsinki Federation for Human
Rights; Moscow Helsinki Group.

The report is available online on the web sites of the International
Helsinki Federation ({http://www.ihf-hr.org }) and the Bulgarian Helsinki
Committee ({http://www.bghelsinki.org }).

For additional information: 
Krassimir Kanev, Chair, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, +359-885-839
801 (mobile)
Henriette Schroeder, IHF Press Officer, +43 -1– 408 88 22 or
+43-676-725 48 29 (mobile)
Lamija Muzurovic, IHF Project Coordinator, +43-1-408 88 22 42 or
+43-669-1 94 22 905 (mobile)