budget. The NPM believes that the implementation of this activity in 2013 will provide an
opportunity for solving the problems not just of the prison itself, but of his detention facility in the
city of Burgas, by moving it to the territory of the existing prison.
The dormitory in the village of Razdelna is operational and reconstruction is bound by partitioning
the dormitories and construction of toilets in them. There is also an idea of constricting a new
building.
The area of the „Vit” dormitory with the prison in the city of Pleven is currently 153 square meters
and will help slightly to solve the problem of overcrowding, unless additional areas are provided or
reconstructed.
Solving the problem of overcrowding is linked not only with the construction of new detention
facilities, but also with the changes in penal policy in Bulgaria. The programme of the Council of
Ministers in 2013 provides extension of application of the penal sanction 'Probation' to a group of
offenders who commited crimes considered not heavy under the Penal Code.
In 2012 the CPT recommends that efforts be made for increasing training of prosecutors and
judges in order to promote the use of sanctions, alternative to imprisonment, but such additional
alternatives associated with electronic monitoring, except from the existing probation measures,
have not been introduced by the Legislature until the end of 2012.
Hygiene
In Bulgarian prisons, dormitories and detention facilities there are not enough resources for
cleaning and sanitation. Cleaning of the floors is predominantly carried out by water. After the
reconstruction of the prison in the city of Vratsa maintaining a good level is possible only because
of the quality of floorings. Relatively good is the level of hygiene in the prison for women in Sliven
and the reformatory in Boychinovtsi. Commonplace in prisons for men and closed dormitories is
availability of large amounts of cockroaches, bedbugs, even rodents. Although delouse procedures
performed, this problem remains unsolved.
Clothing and bed linen
NPM has established a consistent practice not to provide prison clothing because of lack of funds.
Such clothing is provided only to needy prisoners. An unacceptable practice has been established
in the prison in Sliven to provide such clothing mandatorily before appearance in the court.
Nutrition
Overcrowding in prisons has a negative effect also on the organization of eating in the canteens. In
some places the actual time for eating reaches 5 to 10 minutes. Prison administration does not
have the capacity to solve the problem due to the lack of space. In some prisons there are
canteens in the corridors while the respective premises are used for social activities.
For the last four years the full board of an inmate increased from 1.30 to 2.50 Bulgarian levs. Such
increase would not improve the quantity and quality of the food taking into account the inflation
13 Annual Report of the National Preventive Mechanism |
OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA
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