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EC Anti-Torture Committee Issues Report On ’06 Romanian Prison Conditions

The Council of Europe anti-torture Committee, which visited, in 2006, several prison facilities in Romania, warned that the prisons are overcrowded and the inmates spend most of their time in their cells. Romanian authorities said the situation has changed following the passing of the prison law.
EC Anti-Torture Committee Issues Report On ’06 Romanian Prison Conditions
14 dec. 2008, 19:50, English

The committee issued a press release saying that “at the request of the Romanian authorities, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its sixth visit to Romania, carried out in June 2006, together with the response of the Romanian Government.”

At that time, the committee visited the prisons in Romanian cities Ploiesti, Buzau, Craiova and Bucharest – Jilava and noted these prisons are overpopulated and the inmates spend most of their time in their cells. The committee added the crowding encourages violence and deprives the inmates of their intimacy.
 
In the reply sent, Romanian authorities said the new law on the performance of prison terms, which came into force in 2006, will contribute to the reduction of overpopulation in prisons.
 
The committee appreciated the fact that, according to the new law, each inmate receives four square meters, another objective of the law refers to social reinsertion, offering inmates the possibility to attend motivational activities. Certain measures were taken in the past several years, allowing inmates to educate themselves, to work to have access to information, said the committee, but there is more to be done, as most inmates remain locked in their cells 23 hours per day.
 
The committee saluted the measures taken, in the months following the visit, for the reduction of overpopulation, but drew attention on the fact that some half of the inmates in Bacau and one fifth in Ploiesti are not doing anything outside their cells, except outdoor exercise. This was especially the case for inmates with long terms.