|
English Language Page 1.7.1. General information The Shutka prison is situated in the Roma neighborhood of Skopje, about 15-20 minutes drive from the central part of the city. The building was originally constructed as a prison. The prison has a pre-trial sector. It is divided into three units. The first one is the closed unit, which is for the prisoners with highest sentences (up to 2 years in this institution), most serious crimes or worse behavior. The second unit is the semi-opened unit, which is for prisoners with light sentences and good behavior. The third unit is the opened unit, which is situated in the town of Kriva Palanka, about two hours drive from Skopje. Since 2001 the Juvenile Correctional Center in Tetovo was moved to Shutka because of the armed conflict there. It is still in Shutka, which creates problems for both institutions. The capacity of the prison (both the closed and semi-opened unit) was 250 people. On the day of the visit there were 156 prisoners in the closed and the semi-open unit and 137 detainees in the pre-trial unit. The total number of inmates was 293. Thus, the prison was 17% overcrowded. According to the personnel, in previous years there were less than 80 prisoners. The Director explained that the personnel were divided into five groups: staff working for correction and resocialization; security staff; legal department; administrative department; financial department. 1.7.2. Placement and segregation Prisoners in Shutka were mainly first time offenders, sentenced to a maximum of two years. Currently there were only two recidivists, who had been sentenced to less than 6 months in prison. The prisoners were from diverse ethnic and national backgrounds. In the pre-trial section there were detainees from Peru, Italy, Turkey and Albania. The Macedonian prisoners were either from Albanian, Roma or Macedonian background. Women in the preliminary detention were placed in different cells and they did not have contacts with the male detainees even when they were walking in the yard. The only reason to segregate male prisoners or detainees was the need not to place together accomplices in the same crime. Drug addicts were serving their sentences at the closed unit. The reason was that if they were allowed to work outside the prison and if they went frequently on home leave, they would easily find drugs. 1.7.3. Material conditions and hygiene The cells at the semi-opened unit of Shutka looked like rooms in a dormitory. There were no bars on the windows and doors. The rooms had big windows. There was direct access to fresh air and natural light. There were however too many prisoners and the semi-opened unit was heavily overcrowded. In almost every room there were mattresses on the floor, because there were not enough beds. We saw three rooms: one was about 10 sq. m. and was for four people, another room was about nine sq. m. and had three sleeping places (two regular beds and one mattress on the floor), the third room, which was about 15 sq. m. had six sleeping places (four regular beds and two mattresses). Without the additional mattresses the overall space per prisoner in the rooms at the semi-opened unit was about three sq. m., still not sufficient. The rooms were equipped with several shelves and cupboards. In some, although not in all of the rooms at the semi-open unit there were tables and chairs. Almost all rooms had two types of curtains – lace and thicker. There were pictures, posters and calendars on the walls. There were clothes, radios and small TVs and other personal belongings. The floor in the rooms was wooden and the floor in the bathroom and corridor was covered with tiles. The prisoners from the semi-open unit spent only their evenings and nights in the cells. During the day they worked or played sports in the yard. The prisoners from the closed and the pre-trial units, however, spent in their cells their entire day and night (excluding outdoor walks for one hour every day). The conditions in these cells were much worse, as compared to the conditions at the semi-open unit. The IHF delegation saw two cells at the closed unit. They were big, with an area of about 20 sq. m. each. There were three prisoners (but four beds) in each of the two cells. The furniture was in a poor condition. There was only one small window and one lamp, no decoration on the walls and not many personal belongings. The atmosphere at the closed unit was cold and uncomfortable. People looked more unwilling to talk to the IHF delegation than did the prisoners in the semi-open unit. The windows were small; they had bars and the cells looked dark and dim. The sheets looked dirty and worn off. There was no lavatory in the cells. The rooms were not very clean and tidy. The pre-trial cells were bigger than the cells at both the closed and the semi-open units. The cell at the pre-trial unit that the IHF delegation saw was about 50 sq. m. and hosted 10 detainees. The cell was designed as two separate rooms with five beds and no doors and with a WC in between. The ceiling was very high, more than 3,5 m. There were only three light bulbs in the room and it looked like the light would not be adequate for reading or writing in the evening. There were three small windows, which were almost at the level of the ceiling. During the day access to natural light was enough. As for furniture, there was a table nailed to the floor, a cupboard and shelves for personal belongings in each of the two rooms of the cell. There was one cell at the pre-trial sector, which was used for female detainees. The cell was in a very good condition. It had four two-story beds and a wooden table in the middle with several plastic chairs. There were several shelves with personal belongings and an adjacent WC. The lavatory had tiles on the walls and the floor and was very clean. The room itself was very clean and tidy. The beds, the walls and the bedding were all painted pink. The room was about 25 sq. m. and there were seven female detainees in it. The room had two large windows, facing the yard. Access to natural light was adequate. The ventilation was also good. All prisoners at the pre-trial unit had enough blankets, pillows and sheets. All mattresses and bedding were clean at the day of the visit. Sheets are changed twice a month, according to the interviewed prisoners. Prisoners from the semi-opened sector complained that they only had access to the bathroom once a week, which was not enough for those who work. At the closed sector the situation was even worse according to prisoners. They could shower twice a month – on every second Saturday. 1.7.4. Food Prisoners who worked ate a snack before lunch. However, several prisoners complained that the snack was only bread. They also complained that the quality of the food was bad and one or two also complained that the quantity of the food was not enough. According to the Director the daily caloric value of the food was 3,000 kilocalories per person. Budget finances, as well as products from the agricultural and animal farm of the prison were used in order to meet the nutritional needs of the prisoners. Dietary requirements were met, including those based on religion. No pork was served in the prison. Muslims were given the opportunity not to eat during the day at the time of the Ramadan. Their food was served late in the evening and early in the morning. At the time of the Ramadan their relatives could bring them additional food packages. 1.7.5. Medical care There was a medical center at the prison, consisting of two rooms, equipped with a couch, a cupboard with medications, and a sterilizing machine. There was one nurse and a medical doctor, who came twice a week from Tetovo. The doctor was hired by the Juvenile Correctional Center, but he took care of the adult prisoners in Shutka as well. A neuro-psychiatrist also visited the prison occasionally and examined prisoners. If there was a need for specialized medical care, the prisoners were taken to an outside clinic. The procedure was the same for dental care. Almost every second day a dentist in an outside clinic examined at least one prisoner. The IHF delegation was told by the Director that when a prisoner wanted to be seen by a doctor, he told the security guards the previous evening. Next morning he is examined by a nurse and if there is a need, he is seen by a doctor. According to the medical ledger at the medical center of the prison, which the delegation checked, on June 29 23 prisoners were examined and on the day of the visit, June 30, there were records of about 12 examined prisoners. The most frequent registered diagnosis or problems were cardio vascular. There were about 50 drug addicts on the day of the visit at Shutka prison. The prison administration had problems with supplying enough medications for the prison. Last month the government gave the prison 1,300 Euro for medication, while the prison needed 2,500 Euro. There were cases of prisoners harming themselves, most frequently as a protest against an unfair sentence or trial. Self-harm, according to the Director, was not considered a violation of the prison rules. However, two prisoners, who had attempted to commit suicide, had a security camera installed in their cell, which monitored them constantly. 1.7.6. Work in the prison According to the Director, all prisoners who wanted to work were given some work. On the day of the visit, 102 prisoners were employed. Of them, 17 were employed in companies and worked outside the prison. The rest worked inside the prison. Twelve prisoners worked in the agricultural field, which provided products for the kitchen. Seventeen prisoners worked in the carpentry workshop. Eleven prisoners worked at an electric appliances repair workshop. They also took care of the prison electricity and water supply systems. Four prisoners worked at the animal farm. Three prisoners took care of the prison car park. One of them was with a light sentence and he worked as the prison mail driver – every day he went to the Skopje post office and took the prison mail. The prison had a car wash where three prisoners worked. The prison also employed prisoners as tractor drivers, kitchen staff, couriers, cafeteria staff, laundry staff, workers at the dining hall, cleaners and gardeners. Work was not compulsory. All prisoners from the semi-open unit who wanted to work were given the opportunity. The work was paid. In addition, there were a number of benefits for prisoners who worked, including additional food and home leave. 1.7.7. Discipline and punishment Several disciplinary measures against prisoners who break the law and the internal rules of the prison were used at Shutka. The lightest ones were reprimand and public reprimand. Another measure was the withdrawal of all benefits for a period of three months. Benefits included home leave, additional visits, phone calls and parcels. The most severe disciplinary punishment was placement in a disciplinary cell under conditions amounting to solitary confinement. The maximum period of solitary confinement was 15 days. There were two types of solitary confinement: with work and without work (meaning that the prisoner is forbidden to work while he is serving his punishment). The Director of Shutka explained that the procedure for imposing disciplinary punishments was the following: after a violation of prison rules had been committed, a request for procedure is produced by whoever of the personnel became aware of the violation. That request is a statement describing what exactly happened. The legal service at the prison then decides if there had been a violation of prison rules and finally the Director determines the punishment. If the prisoner wanted to protest the imposed punishment, he could write to the Minister of Justice. No court procedure is envisaged. There were no special disciplinary cells, but smaller cells at the pre-trial unit were used for this purpose. The IHF delegation saw one such cell, which was about 7-8 sq. m. and had a two-story bed, a “table” (which was a piece of wood 50x50 cm, built in the wall). There was no chair, no cupboard, but only a shelf. In one of the corners there was a small lavatory, built into a toilet stall with no door, but a shower curtain. The punishment cell was very dark, with no window letting through natural light. There was a very small window above the door (50 x 50 cm), which was facing the corridor of the pre-trial unit. Before a prisoner was sent to the disciplinary cell, he was always examined by a doctor. On the day of the visit there were no prisoners in disciplinary cells. According to the Director, force in Shutka was used against prisoners only if a prisoner attacked somebody from the personnel or in order to prevent a prisoner from physically harming other inmates. There had been three or four cases of use of force against prisoners for the last six months. After every case of use of force, the court was informed and a medical examination followed. The Director of the prison told the IHF delegation that there were several prisoners who brought windows and in such cases the guards handcuffed them to the bed and, if necessary, sedative medications were applied. There was no direct involvement of a doctor in these procedures. The IHF delegation found that when two of the informal leaders in the prison were punished with disciplinary cells several months ago, other prisoners went on hunger strike to support their release. The Director stated that such situations were usually overcome with open and sincere talks of the personnel with the prisoners. 1.7.8. Contacts with the outside world Family visits took place in Shutka every week (once a week, with additional visits awarded for good conduct). According to the Director, all prisoners, except for those from abroad, had visits from their families and relatives. Physical contact during family visits was allowed for prisoners from the semi-open unit, who usually meet their visitors at the cafeteria (which was situated in the prison administrative building) or outside of the prison. The prisoners from the closed unit and the pre-trial unit used the visit room, in which there was a plastic window with small holes, not allowing any physical contact between the detainees or prisoners and their relatives. There were six seats for prisoners on one side of the plastic wall and two or three visitors per person were allowed. According to the Director, some prisoners with very good conduct from the closed unit were also allowed to meet their family members at the cafeteria. There were two rooms for meetings with lawyers. The rooms were spacious; there was a big desk and several chairs in each. A security guard was attending all meetings of prisoners and detainees with their lawyers. According to the director lawyers require such a measure because several years ago a prisoner attacked his lawyer. It is however very hard to believe that this would be the case with all the lawyers visiting clients in Shutka. According to the Director all correspondence of the prisoners is read. This includes letters to lawyers, to the Macedonian President and to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This is a clear violation of a number of international standards that should be urgently addressed and dealt with by the Macedonian government. 1.7.9. Activities Work was the major activity in the Shutka prison. Other than that there was little in terms of organized activities with a rehabilitative character. Prisoners from the open unit spent their day at work or playing sports outside. The yard was big, but there was no shade in the hot summer day. The prison and the Juvenile Correctional Center shared the same sports field and juveniles and adult prisoners mixed there every day. The IHF delegation received information from both prisoners and staff that conflicts were frequent. Prisoners from the closed department and from the pre-trial unit had one or two hours outdoor exercise, during which they engaged in sports and other activities. There was no school or other educational opportunities at Shutka. According to the Director, all prisoners were able to read and write to a certain extent. There were no illiterate people. There was a library at the prison but prisoners did not use it regularly. There were several workshops, including carpentry and one for the repair of electric appliances, where prisoners received professional training. The atmosphere at the workshops at the time of the visit was one of disorder and disorganization. There were about 15 people in the carpentry workshop and they did not seem to be engaged in a work process. Most of them were cleaning or just hanging around. No conditions for religious practices existed at the Shutka prison, but according to the Director, none of the prisoners wanted to practice their religion while in prison, something that is hard to believe, although the delegation was not able to verify it with prisoners. There were no visits from Orthodox or Muslim religious representatives. 1.7.10. Inspections The Shutka prison was visited by representatives of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. The Director did not give any information on recommendations that the Committee made following the visit. The delegation was told that every Friday a judge came to the Shutka prison and talked with the prisoners. He wrote reports for the President of the district court. No recommendations from his visits, however, were available in the prison. Representatives of the Red Cross also visited the prison regularly. The Director stated that those representatives came to see only specific prisoners, not the entire facility. He was not content that the representatives of the Red Cross would like to talk to prisoners alone, without any members of the prison personnel being present. |
Наша кнопка  |
|