the requirement in the medical record to record data on the physical, mental or other condition of
the detainee.
In the European Prison Rules is written recommendational provision for oral and written
information, where “on admission to prison and then as often as necessary, all prisoners must be
informed in writing and orally in a language they understand, on the rules governing discipline in
prison, as well as their rights and obligations in prison.“ It is reflected in the provisions of art. 52 of
the LIPSD under which prisoners are entitled to oral information in a language they understand on
the rules of internal order and discipline, and their fundamental rights and obligations and the legal
ability to seek written information by an explicit request.
Observations of the NPM during the inspections show a lack of information among detainees on
their full living area, medical care, employment and conditions on change of the sentence they are
entitled to, as well as a significant lack of information about the change of the regime, transfer to a
dormitory and release on early parole.
The initial allocation is made by the prosecutor, enforcing the sentence, and according to the
requirements of the LIPSD in the prison or reformatory nearest to the permanent address. A major
shortcoming of the legislation is that the prosecutor has no operative independency to assess the
circumstances related to a temporary residence, availability of permanent social environment,
necessity of carrying out ongoing investigations or other reasons related to the safety of the
detainee, in order to enforce the sentence to another prison or dormitory.
These circumstances may be reported only after the admittance and subsequent transfer by an act
of the Director General of the Directorate General “Implementation of Penal Sanctions.”
The NPM shares of the opinion that if these circumstances can be taken into account during the
initial allocation, public costs and inconvenience for inmates and their families shall be
significantly reduced.
Another major legal shortcoming found by the NPM is related to the provision of art. 34, para 1 of
the Regulation Applying the LIPSD (RALIPSD). According to it, when the prison administration
believes that this type of prison facility or initial regime of imprisonment are improperly
determined by the court, it shall immediately notify the district attorney at the place of
punishment and prosecution’s office that enforced the judicial act, and until receipt of written
instructions from the prosecutor the prisoner shall be placed in a closed facility.
Following the recommendation made by the NPM, the Ministry of Justice agreed that the text
contradicts to the binding force of the judgment and in the future amendments to the PPLIPSD
this text will be revoked.
During inspection the team of the NPM found tension among inmates who had been unreasonably
denied subsequent relocation. It was found out that in most cases the prisoners are not given the
opportunity to present additional evidence to the initial request for relocation.
Often the head of the prison only informs prisoners of refusal to be relocated, ordered by the
General Director of the Directorate “Implementation of Penal Sanctions.” A copy of them is not
8 Annual Report of the National Preventive Mechanism |
OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA
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