Overcrowding and ill-treatment of detainees remain a major problem in Romanian prisons.
PenitentiaryPhoto: Pixabay
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The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) of the Council of Europe on Thursday released a report following its May 2021 ad-hoc visit, which reports a number of serious problems in prisons.
He was taken to the “club room” and the “falaka method” was applied.
A “particularly alarming” situation was reported at the Giurgiu Penitentiary, where the delegation received credible accusations that several people were repeatedly subjected to soles: a method of torture known as “falaka”, the report notes. In these cases, the members of the intervention teams (EOS) were involved.
One detainee said he was taken out of his cell and taken to the “club room” where he was beaten. The team leader acknowledged that there was an intervention targeting the detainee, but could not find the report on the incident.
Detainee’s testimony as recorded in the CPT report:
- “A man (AB) claimed that in April 2021 he was taken out of his six- or seven-member EOS cell and taken to an activity room (the ‘club room’).
- He was handcuffed and placed on the floor face down with his feet raised in the air, while the soles of his bare feet were hit with a rubber cane.
- It is alleged that several members of his staff shot him in the leg. He also said he was punched in the ribs.
- Apparently he could not stand or walk properly for a week and was forced to wear larger shoes due to swollen feet.
- Unfortunately, despite the fact that he admitted that AB was the subject of an intervention, the head of EOS in the penitentiary could not find the report on the incident “.
Numerous other people complained that they were beaten by the intervention teams, with their fists, feet or rubber sticks, the report notes.
Experts recorded the testimony of a man who described how he was beaten:
- “Another man (CD) claimed that when he returned to the hospital after a week of hospitalization on December 17, 2020, he decided to go on hunger strike again and asked to be placed in a special cell. This request was rejected, and the officer in charge also called the EOS team for support.
- EOS members, wearing full personal protective equipment (ie armor, helmets, sticks and hoods), pulled the CD out of the cell, handcuffed his back and forced him to walk in a painful position bent over. 90 °, with arms outstretched, a hyperextended position forcing his head down.
- CD claimed that several EOS members punched him in the head and upper body and kicked him several times while escorting him down the corridor and on the stairs between sections E7 and E9. As a result, he said he had bruises and pain in his arms, shoulders and ribs and had his prostheses torn. He also claimed that he had been denied access to a doctor for almost a month. “
Beyond the situation in Giurgiu, the experts claim that most of the people met by the CPT delegation indicated that they were treated correctly by the staff. “This was especially the case of the Galati Penitentiary, where relations between detainees and staff seemed calmer and more respectful than the 2018 visit,” the report said.
How the Romanian authorities defend themselves
The National Administration of Penitentiaries claims, in a reply sent to Council of Europe experts, that in the period 2019-2020 the detainees from Giurgiu penitentiary complained of 21 “alleged assaults by staff”, but in no case was it “falaka”. The institution describes the situations as “unlikely” and “atypical”.
Government response to Council of Europe experts:
- “At the level of the National Administration of Penitentiaries, 16 situations were identified in 2019, respectively 5 situations in 2020, in which the detainees, from Giurgiu Penitentiary, complained of alleged assaults by staff, of which 0 (zero) cases reported by” falaka ”.
- It is obvious that persons deprived of their liberty have multiple possibilities to address all state bodies. The National Administration of Penitentiaries will further investigate this atypical hypothesis, however, considering it unlikely that such conduct existed on the part of the staff and was not reported / notified by the detainee / detainees concerned or their witnesses, taking into account of the many ways in which detainees can exercise your right to petition (phone in the room, access to the mailbox in person, etc.).
- Without denying the possibility of the existence of isolated cases, we appreciate that, institutionally, the current monitoring mechanism allows a proper management of this issue, at national level “.
Overcrowding, poor conditions, bedbugs and beetles in cells
The CPT notes the ongoing investment in prison reform, but stresses that the challenges remain: improving detention conditions, providing a range of useful activities for detainees, helping them prepare for reintegration into the community, increasing the number of prison staff, and ensuring that medical services in prisons meet the needs of detainees.
In addition, overcrowding remains a serious problem, with the system operating at 127% of its official capacity.
Certain units visited, such as the Craiova and Mărgineni Penitentiaries, operated at over 150% of their detention capacity.
“Such overcrowding levels reduce the overall quality of life in a penitentiary and undermine efforts to prepare detainees for reintegration into the community. The Romanian authorities should take the necessary measures to ensure that all persons in prisons are accommodated in decent conditions and that persons living in multi-occupancy cells have a living space of at least 4 m² each (excluding the sanitary annex) and to increase the use of alternative measures to imprisonment “, the experts note.
According to the report, the material conditions in all the penitentiaries visited were generally precarious, with the cells dilapidated and lacking in equipment (storage spaces, tables and chairs), and mattresses and bed linen were worn and infested with bedbugs and beetles.
“Many complaints have been received about the very limited access to hot water, as well as about the insufficient heating of the cells during the winter. Moreover, many cells were severely overcrowded, especially in the Craiova and Mărgineni Penitentiaries, people often had only 2 m² of living space available each. In addition, the toilets were often in poor condition, and detainees were not provided with adequate amounts of detergent and hygiene products, ”the document said.
Among the penitentiaries visited by Council of Europe experts are those in Giurgiu, Galați, Craiova, Mărgineni.
READ HERE THE FULL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
READ HERE THE RESPONSE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA
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