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English Language Page 1.2.1. General information The Bitola Prison is a small regional prison housing prisoners from Southwest Macedonia, a region with some 30,000 inhabitants. Built in 1958, the prison is located near the town of Bitola. The prison complex includes a pre-trial detention unit, a closed unit and a semi-open unit. The open unit that accommodates around 20 prisoners is situated within the prison of Prilep, some 40 kilometers away from Bitola. Most prison buildings were dilapidated. According to the prison director, funds necessary for their reconstruction and adaptation have been approved recently. The prison has at its disposal 83 hectares of farmland, assigned by the state. The prison is designed to accommodate some 30 persons in the pre-trial detention unit and around 95 persons in the detention ward. At the time of the delegation’s visit it had 46 detainees. Of them seven were untried prisoners, 35 were prisoners under sentence and four persons were imprisoned for misdemeanor. The prison administration explained that the small number of prisoners is due to the harvest and farming season when the convicted prisoners and those sentenced for misdemeanor usually request postponement of their sentences. [A possibility for postponement of the execution of the penalty is envisaged by Article 86 of LES.] Thus, the prison population is by far larger in wintertime. On average, the prison’s annual turnover ranges from 600 to 800 people. The prison population was composed of prisoners awaiting trial, convicted prisoners and prisoners sentenced for misdemeanor. All of them were men. However, women were occasionally detained in the pre-trial unit. All these categories of prisoners were physically separated. Pre-trial detainees accused of joint crimes or those who came from the same criminal group were placed in individual cells in the pre-trial unit. At the time of the delegation’s visit, only two prisoners occupied the closed unit. Given that new criminal proceedings have been instituted against both of them, the prison administration considered them security risks and placed them in the closed unit. The semi-open unit accommodated 33 prisoners and four persons convicted of misdemeanor. The latter are assigned a separate room. 1.2.2. Material conditions and hygiene The size of the cells in the pre-trial detention unit amounted to 4 cubic meters. The cells were furnished with 2 or 3 beds, shelves for personal belongings, tables and squatter toilets. Lockers were placed outside the rooms. The design of the cells did not allow direct entry of natural light and fresh air. The only opening (on the upper part of the cell door) looked onto a corridor with windows. Artificial lighting was totally inappropriate – one light bulb, emanating feeble light, was installed above the door opening and for some unclear reason looked onto the corridor. The prison had its own central heating system, which used oil. The rooms were not heated directly, since the heating radiators were installed in the corridor. Taking into account the size of these radiators and the area they were supposed to heat, the team believes that heating in the winter is inadequate. Bathrooms were dilapidated, but working. Hot water was available at all times, and the number of showers was adequate. The prisoners are obliged to shower once a week at least. In the closed unit the toilet facility and the bathroom, located outside the rooms, were in good condition. Beddings were washed and changed twice a month. Prisoners can shower once a week or at more frequent intervals if necessary. In the semi-open unit the walls were freshly painted and showed no signs of humidity. Floors, covered by linoleum, were kept clean and tidy. All rooms had radiators that according to prisoners keep them adequately heated. All the prisoners had lockers of their own. As in other units, bedclothes were washed and changed twice a month. Washing machines were enough for the prison’s needs, according to the Director. The prisoners exempt from work took a bath once a week, while those engaged in prison work could bathe daily, if they wanted to. Toilet facilities and bathrooms, located outside the rooms, were rather dilapidated. The prisoners accommodated in the semi-open unit practically spent entire day in the open. The admission unit was located within the semi-open unit and resembled the rest of the premises in that unit. After admission, the prisoners are kept in the unit for a month or two, a period during which they are under observation. Afterwards they are classified according to the treatment and rehabilitation programs available. The prisoners in the admission unit had outdoor exercises 30-60 minutes a day. 1.2.3. Food and kitchen The food was prepared in a small and relatively clean kitchen equipped with all the necessary utensils. A professional cook was responsible for the preparation of weekly menus that had to be approved by the prison director and a doctor. A calories chart is written down for every meal (three “regular” meals, plus a snack). It did not become clear, however, how the caloric values of certain foods were determined. In some cases these values were obviously exaggerated. E.g. in one case a meal of beans and bread amounted to 3,081 calories. According to the cook and several prisoners interviewed by the team, meat was served daily. Milk, dairy products and fresh fruit were on the menu only on holidays. Due attention is paid to the diet of Muslim prisoners. Special meals were also prepared for the prisoners who were on diet on doctor’s orders. The prisoners could receive food parcels from families. In addition, there was a well-stocked prison canteen, which offered toiletries, coffee, cigarettes, juice, biscuits, ice cream, etc. at market prices. 1.2.4. Medical care The prison has not organized a medical service or even employed a doctor on a full-time basis. It signed a contract with the Bitola First-Aid Station. A doctor from that medical facility visits the prison twice a week. Since the doctor was not on the prison premises at the time of the team’s visit, it was the prison director who provided the information about the medical care. Upon admission, prisoners are examined by a doctor and have a medical file opened. Subsequently, all information about the prisoner’s health, and particularly information about bodily injuries that might be ascribed to physical ill-treatment, are entered into this file. Medical examinations were conducted in a separate room. The latter was clean, well-lit and equipped with basic medical materials. However, no arrangements had been made so as to enable medical examinations to be conducted out of hearing and out of sight of non-medical staff. Further, no hot water was available in this room. Whenever they want to be examined by a doctor, the prisoners had to apply in their wards. The doctor examines each applicant duly on his visiting days. In the event of an emergency, an ambulance is called to take the prisoner to one of the town’s hospitals. Also, whenever the doctor decides that a prisoner needs to undergo a lab test or dental intervention, or has to be examined by a specialist, security guards take the prisoner to a civilian hospital. Security guards were tasked with distributing medication that had been prescribed by the doctor. Apart from aspirin, the prisoners were not allowed to keep any drugs. The doctor is obliged to medically examine every prisoner punished with solitary confinement and to state whether he is suited to undergo such a punishment. Apart from one prisoner suffering from hepatitis C, no cases of HIV infection or AIDS had been registered over the past several years, according to the prison director. Further, not a single suicide or suicide attempt had been registered over the same period. However, there had been several cases of self-mutilation (swallowing of spoons, vein cutting, etc.). Last year one prisoner died of varicella complication. According to the autopsy findings, he died of natural causes. However, some still have every reason to believe that he suffered from complication and died because of delayed and inappropriate medical care. The death of the prisoner was not properly cleared at the moment of the completion of this report. In spite of the request of the family, they were not given the official autopsy report. The partial documents that the Macedonian Helsinki Committee acquired speak of dubious formulations used for the caused of death. 1.2.5. Prison work According to the law, prisoners in Macedonia are not obliged to work, though institutions are obliged to make appropriate arrangements in the event prison work is necessary. Prisoners may be engaged to perform work in the prison workshops (carpentry, farming, cattle breeding, etc.) or to work for companies in the community. A company that needs extra workers has to address the prison administration in writing. If the administration approves this arrangement, a prisoner may be assigned to work for the company only after submitting a written statement that he/she accepts the job. A prisoner engaged in prison work earns 1,000-2,000 Denars (20-30 EURO) a month. The prisoner’s conduct and commitment to prison work is a major criterion for his early release. 1.2.6. Discipline and punishment According to the Director, just a few prisoners in Bitola have been punished by solitary confinement over the past year or two. Not a single prisoner has tried to escape, misused his privileges or committed a major misdeed over that period. According to the Director, no prisoner has complained of the disciplinary measure taken against him. However the IHF delegation interviewed a prisoner who had been punished with a disciplinary cell for two weeks for theft. [The Director, though, claimed that the reason for the solitary confinement was “attacking another prisoner during night sleep"] He said he was deprived of outdoor stay, to which he was entitled even when placed in solitary confinement. He therefore complained in writing to the Director and wrote to his lawyer. The security guard, who attended the interview, confirmed that the prisoner was not allowed to take outdoor walks, but denied that he ever filed a complaint. According to the security guard the prisoner was “troublesome”, a heroin addict who was administered a drug on doctor’s orders. 1.2.7. Use of force and firearms According to the Director, not a single case of use of force or firearms against prisoners, officers exercising their authority in an inappropriate manner or prisoners’ complaints for illegal use of force of firearms have been registered over the past several years. The Director informed that only a handful of prisoners have complained about the staff’s attitude towards them. Over the past two years, only one disciplinary proceeding had been instituted against a guard who had fallen asleep while on duty. The IHF delegation did not find evidence of illegal use of force or firearms in Bitola. However, in the team’s view, very often the fact that no prisoner has filed a complaint related to illegal use of force is more telling of a dysfunctional system of complaints than of the full respect for law and prisoners’ rights. 1.2.8. Contacts with the outside world Sentenced prisoners in Bitola were allowed to make one phone call per week. The duration of the calls was not restricted. One phone booth was available to the prisoners accommodated in the closed and semi-open units. According to the Director, a security officer could hear “discretely” the conversation. Phone calls made out of hearing of security officers practically stand for a privilege prisoners are supposed to deserve. If approved by the prison director, the prisoners from the open unit may use cell phones. Visiting premises are located in a newly-constructed building decorated in a restaurant style. The prison had no special rooms for spouse or family visits. Instead, the prisoners were given extra leave, which had to be approved by the Director. No premises have been set aside for religious observance or ceremonies. According to the Director, the prisoners were rather disinterested in exercising this right. However, a local priest is called in whenever a prisoner insists on a pastoral visit. Further, the prisoners were allowed to spend major religious holidays with their families in the outside community. 1.2.9. Activities Apart from brief walks, the untried prisoners and the prisoners under sentence, accommodated in the closed unit, were not allowed to take part in any kind of activity in the Bitola prison. The prisoners from the semi-open unit, in addition to watching TV or playing chess, can play football, basketball, volleyball and table tennis, or go to a small gym several times a week. A file containing all relevant international conventions and national documents and laws is kept in the library and available to the prisoners at all times. The Director said that bearing in mind the prison’s small capacity and its population composed of prisoners under short sentences, organizing any kind of education would be pointless. Even illiterate prisoners, he added, were disinterested in learning how to read and write. No arrangements have been made for cultural or recreational activities. 1.2.10. Inspection A supervisory body of the Ministry of Justice’s Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sentences is in charge of supervising the legality of prison regimes and staff conduct. The IHF delegation did not obtain clear information about the number of mandatory inspections laid down in the law. However, the Director said inspectors usually visit the institution once or twice a year. The supervisory body writes a report on established shortcomings or illegal procedures, and sends it to a visited institution, which is supposed to make the required amendments. Under the law, the Ministry of Justice supervises the professional competence of the medical staff and the quality of the medical treatment provided to the prisoners. As far as the Director could recall, not a single official from the Ministry has visited the prison for this particular purpose. |
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