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English Language Page 1.6.1. General data Stip prison is a district prison, located some ten kilometers from the city center. It holds both sentenced and remand prisoners and covers the areas of RadoviS and Strumica. The prison operates a closed, semi-open, open (in Strumica) and a pre-trial unit. Its capacity was 180 inmates and on the day of the visit in Stip it had 84 prisoners. Five more persons were brought to the semi-open unit when the team was about to leave the prison. The facility was built in 1986 and since then it had reportedly had regular renovations. The biggest one was of the heating system. Initially, due to lack of proper planning, heaters were installed only in the corridors. Now they have added heaters in the cells as well. The actual prison facility (where the inmates were held) was protected by an iron fence. Outside the prison entrance there was a field that belonged to the prison, where some inmates worked. 1.6.2. Categories of inmates and segregation The prison held remand prisoners, prisoners who were sentenced for misdemeanors, first time offenders sentenced to up to two years imprisonment and recidivists sentenced to up to six months. The prison was exclusively for male inmates over 18. By ethnic background they were mainly Macedonians. In addition, it held four Romani prisoners, three Turks and one Albanian. In the past, there were also some aliens from Bulgaria. Concerning their religion, the inmates were Christian (70%) and Muslim (30%). The 56 sentenced inmates were separated from the remand prisoners, who were only eight. There were also 20 inmates punished for misdemeanours but these were held together with the other sentenced prisoners. Sentenced inmates were held in three types of wards: closed, semi-open and open (in Strumica), depending on the type of the regime and the length of their sentence. The Director of the prison – also a Director of the Strumica open unit – informed us that another 60 inmates were held there. There was no segregation of inmates based on their religion or ethnic origin. 1.6.3. Material conditions and hygiene 1.6.3.1. The semi-open unit There were approximately 70 persons held in the semi-open unit. The delegation could not meet with any inmates held in that unit since they were all working on the day of the visit. The observation of the premises, however, even without interviews with inmates, revealed a situation that was quite overcrowded. One bedroom of 7.5 sq. m. had four beds, two windows (1.5 sq. m. each), two heaters and one electric light. The floor was wooden. Another bedroom of similar size had five beds, two windows one heater and one electric light. Thus, the average space per capita was 1.5 – 2 sq. m., quite insufficient even if we take into account that the inmates stood in the rooms just for the night. The bathroom was in a good condition and had five basins and three quite old toilets with one window (one sq. m.) in each one. There were altogether 16 rooms in the semi-open unit. In the two corridors there were electric lights and sufficient lockers for the inmates’ personal belongings. In one of the corridors there was also a camera because, according to the officers, at times the inmates stole each other’s things. 1.6.3.2. The closed unit In general, the situation in the closed unit was even worse compared to the semi-open unit if we take into account that inmates there spent a lot of time in their cells. We saw two bedrooms: the first one was 8.75 sq. m. and had five beds, two windows (1.5 sq. m. each), two heaters and an electric light; the second room was 4.5 sq. m. and had three beds, one window (1.5 sq. m.), one heater and a wooden floor. Thus the average space per capita was 1.5 sq. m., a very cramped situation. The bathroom had two showers and two small windows in one of its parts and in the other there were three basins and two toilet cabins with one small window in each. The floor was made of marble and the water pipes were scourged (a sign of poor maintenance). There were many bottles of water, as a way to deal with the regular water supply cuts in the Stip area. The corridor was artificially lit, with two heaters (one in each end), lockers and two old trash bins. The prison rules were put up on the corridor wall. 1.6.3.3. The pre-trial unit The pre-trial unit had eight detention cells, each measuring around 7 sq. m. with two beds (only 20 cm above the floor) with sheets. There was a toilet on the ground, but no basin, a wooden desk, one chair, one shelf and one small heater. The walls were quite old and dirty. There was no direct access to natural light and the ventilation was poor. Light came from one window on the top of the door (0.5 sq. m.). In addition, there was a projector light on the top of the door of each cell that the team found almost tormenting. In the corridor, in front of the cells, there were three long heaters, four electric lights and seven windows (3 sq. m. each) that looked to the yard. Detainees remained locked in the cells for at least 23 hours a day, a situation amounting to inhuman treatment. The inmates in all units could take a shower once a week. The number of showers was satisfactory. The access to hygiene materials was good. Most inmates bought the hygiene materials themselves. The ones who could not afford this were provided with the necessary materials from the prison. The inmates wore civilian clothes, not uniforms and their hygiene was satisfactory. There were two washing machines inside the prison that could be used by the inmates. 1.6.4. Food In Stip the daily food allowance per capita was 80 Denars [1.3 Euro]. The Director mentioned that the daily food allowance per capita in state prisons varies in the range of 80 to 300 Denars. This amount is fixed irrespective of the number of the inmates held in each prison facility. We were informed that recently, the Ministry of Justice formed a commission and there was a proposal to define a fixed amount per capita for food allowance by law. The food was prepared in a large kitchen that had all necessary utensils. However, it was quite old and the floor was not in a good condition. There was no professional cook employed, since the previous one retired three months ago and the new one was under a limited contract and was not professional. The menu list was on display on the kitchen’s wall. The quality and quantity of the food did not appear to be very good. Fish was served once a week, meat – twice a week. However, neither dairy products, nor fruit appeared on the two-week menu list. We were informed that the menu paid attention to the inmates’ religious beliefs. The dining room, next to the kitchen, was spacious (around 30 sq. m.) with three rows of tables, six in each raw, big windows, old wooden floor, marble tiles on the lower half of the wall, nine heaters, one TV set and a table-tennis. It looked to the prison entrance. Both sentenced and remand prisoners were allowed to receive parcels and to buy products in the relatively well-supplied prison canteen, which offered water, juices, pastries, cakes, etc. The canteen was a separate building next to the prison entrance, with tables for inmates to sit. 1.6.5. Medical care The medical staff was part of the prison administration. There was no full-time doctor but a contracted one, a neuro-psychiatrist by specialisation. The Director, being a psychologist, was also of help to the inmates. The contracted doctor visited the prison at least once a week and, if necessary, twice a week. In case of emergency, prisoners were transferred to civilian hospitals in Stip. Moreover, if according to the doctor, an inmate needed some special medical examination or specific treatment, he would be sent to specialists in civilian hospitals. There was no dentist in the prison and the inmates were attended by the civilian health centres or, if they wished to and could afford it, to private dentists. Since the doctor was not present in prison every day, upon admission inmates were medically examined by the security officers on duty. This is a rather peculiar situation that needs urgent attention. According to the staff, inmates were being checked for visible traces of physical abuse and ill treatment and asked whether they had any specific medical problem such as diabetes, heart condition etc. If there was an indication of ill treatment, the doctor would be invited to examine them and to register all the information about such traces in the prisoners’ medical files. Information of possible ill treatment would then be sent to the Director and the latter would pass it to the investigative judge in charge. The only case of an inmate who had signs of torture upon admission was registered three years ago. Yet he remained in Stip prison only one night, because his bail was paid and he left. Although we were showed a couple of prisoners’ medical files – blue ones for remand prisoners and yellow ones for the rest – these were very poorly filled in, with only some occasional entries. Moreover, the medical room of the prison facility gave the impression of being rarely used. The room (12 sq. m.) had one bed for medical checks with a dirty cover-sheet, a basin, a table, a case of shelves – almost empty, with only a few basic instruments – a heater and a mirror. Both the medical files and the condition of the room gave the team the impression that the medical care was not nearly in line with the national or the international standards. Since we were not able to meet the doctor, we could get no information neither about the basis for taking clinical decisions, nor about his role in maintaining the hygiene. Prior to placement in an isolation cell for punishment, inmates have to be medically examined by a doctor, who should determine whether they were able to go through the punishment. Nevertheless, the doctor not being present all the time, this procedure runs the danger of not being followed with due respect. Prisoners had the right to reject any medical treatment; in this case they had to sign a document declaring their rejection. The officer on duty was responsible for giving the inmates their medication. In cases of drug addiction, the inmates were given methadone with a doctor’s prescription. Only aspirin was given freely without doctor’s permission. The IHF delegation got no information about the segregation of prisoners on medical grounds. There was a monthly check for hepatitis, HIV and drugs. There was a case of an HIV infected inmate in 1994 or 1995. In 2003, there was a case of tuberculosis and the inmate was transferred to Idrizovo. According to the Director, mental health care was satisfactory since the doctor was a neuro-psychiatrist. Last year, the prison had a drug addict, who made an unsuccessful suicide attempt, without suffering any consequent injuries. No other suicide attempts or serious self-mutilation had been registered. However, there were a couple of cases of swallowing spoons and cutting arms with razor blades. 1.6.6. Work in the prison According to the law, work is not compulsory for inmates. If inmates are to work outside the prison they had to sign that they were willing to accept the job, meaning that they were entitled to refuse the job as well. In order to work outside the prison the prisoners in Stip had to send an application to the institution or company they were interested in and once they were accepted, a contract had to be signed between the institution/company and the inmate. Usually prisoners were engaged in agriculture, mechanics, in some state institution as couriers or cleaning staff or in enterprises that were located in the Strumica open unit. Their salary, when employed in jobs outside the prison, was 25% of the profit that the enterprise was making out of their work. Inside the prison prisoners could work on the pig farm or on the land owned by the prison. For this type of job they were entitled to a monthly salary of approximately 800 to 900 Denars (around 15 Euros). Work, together with the inmate’s conduct, was taken into consideration in decisions on his early release. 1.6.7. Discipline, punishment and isolation The system of punishments in Stip was the same as elsewhere in the Macedonian prisons. The severest punishment was placement in an isolation cell for up to 15 days. The IHF delegation saw the disciplinary cells, which were empty on the day of the visit. There were three such cells, each around 2.5 sq. m. Each had a small iron bed – 30 cm above the plastic floor – and a toilet facility that was just on the ground. The cells had wooden doors and a lock. There was no light inside the cells and no access to direct sunlight, fresh air and heating. It was only the small window on the top of the door that allowed indirect access to natural light, coming from the corridor, which had a window looking to the yard. There was artificial light in the corridor but insufficient as well. In the period between 1 January and 30 June 2004 nine inmates had been punished with isolation cells for different periods of time: for attempted escape, for stealing from the canteen, for late return from home leave, for coming back drunk from home leave and for damaging the prison property. In the same period, only two more disciplinary measures (reprimands) were imposed. Overall, there was only one appeal and it was rejected. 1.6.8. Use of force and arms The Director told the IHF delegation that when he took up duty he made it clear to the staff that the illegal use of force would not be allowed. Security guards could use firearms only outside the prison facility. There had been no cases of use of arms. Seven cases of use of physical force by security guards had been officially registered between 1996 and 2004. One of them was reported in 2004 and it was a case when guards tried to separate inmates that were fighting among themselves. However, according to the Director, this was a rare occasion, as the prison was relatively small and the prison population was not one to be characterized as ‘problematic’. Whenever there was an incident of use of force by security guards, the practice was to inform the judge. To our team’s question why they do not also inform the prosecutor about the occurrence of such incidents, the Director answered that the judge was the one to decide on whether he/she wanted to inform the prosecutor or not. According to the law, a report is always prepared for every incident of use of force by security guards and is then sent to the Ministry of Justice. The Director was still expecting an answer from the Ministry concerning the last such case. The delegation did not find any information on cases of complaints of inmates of security guard’s misbehavior. 1.6.9. Contacts with the outside world The sentenced prisoners in Stip had a right to family visits under the law. Contacts of the remand prisoners with their family members were under the control of the investigative judges. The frequency of visits for sentenced prisoners depends on the regime they are placed under. Concerning the contacts with lawyers and diplomatic representatives, there was no limitation for sentenced prisoners. Yet, the investigative judge could order that remand prisoners could have contact with their lawyer only under visual surveillance. Remand prisoner’s correspondence was also under the surveillance of the investigative judge. There was no access to a telephone for detainees. Prisoners in the closed unit were entitled to two telephone calls per week in the presence of security officers and their letters were always checked by the prison’s Director before they were sent. Prisoners in the semi-open and open units did not face any limitation, nor were their letters or phone calls under any surveillance. The prisoners could make phone calls with phone cards from inside the prison. However, the duration of a phone call was limited to satisfy the demand of all prisoners. Also, the amount of calling time depended on the prisoner’s behavior, i.e. if it was good, he could be given the right to more calling time. Newspapers were available to the inmates if they paid for them. There was an internal prison radio system, often in use. Yet, it did not operate in the closed unit, where only private radios were allowed. According to the Director, the inmates had shown no interest in practicing their religion and currently there were no special premises for religious purposes. However, as soon as they expressed such a wish, the prison would be able to meet their demands, since there were spare cells that could be turned to prayer rooms in the future. The Director gave prisoners in the semi-open unit leaves for the big religious holidays. The meetings of the prisoners with their lawyers took place in a separate room measuring 7.5 sq. m. It had one heater and one electric light and was furnished with one small table and four chairs. However, according to the security guards, for the lawyer’s protection the inmate was kept in one part of the room that was separated from the other with a glass partition. The delegation found it very hard to accept such a justification. Remand prisoners accepted all kinds of visits in a small room (4 sq. m.) with two different entrances for visitors and detainees. The latter were separated by a half barred iron partition. In the room there was a window (2.25 sq. m.), one bench, one chair, one heater, one electric light and a tall ashtray. The overall condition of the room was quite poor, without much fresh air. 1.6.10. Activities Remand and the sentenced prisoners in the closed-unit had a 30-60 minute walk in the open air. In the closed unit there was a day room (9 sq. m.) with two windows, two electric lights, a long heater and a wooden floor, furnished with one bench, two tables and a TV set. Inmates could stay there, play chess, watch TV and communicate. They seemed to be quite relaxed and had placed some photographs on the walls. The other types of inmates had the opportunity to play football, basketball, chess and table tennis (in the dining-room), approximately once or twice a week. In the afternoon, when we left the facility, some inmates were resting near the canteen. The prison had a small library (5 sq. m.), which was recently updated with 650 books. The room was furnished with a blackboard, two pieces of furniture with shelves for books, two typewriters and one sewing machine. However, the inmates were not much interested in using the library, since most of the titles were outdated. 1.6.11. Security staff and prison security system The prison had 31 employees. There were 14 male security guards and one female guard. According to the Director, the number of security guards was small, given the number of the inmates held in Stip. The Director also complained about the inadequacy of the security guards, either due to the lack of appropriate education or the irrelevance of their professional backgrounds. The surveillance of the prison was also conducted with cameras. There was a special security room with two computer screens to monitor the cells and the external area. There were three cells with cameras inside under a constant surveillance, a serious violation of the right to privacy. 1.6.12. Inspection An oversight body of the central administration carried out regular visits to the prison, once or twice annually. However, the IHF delegation did not see any written traces of their visits. The Director informed the delegation that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) had visited the prison facilities in Macedonia twice and had never complained about the prison conditions. |
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