Implementation of the Duties and Powers of the National Preventive Mechanism in 2012
Complaints made by prisoners in regard to food were unsurprisingly present also in 2012
(many in Ig Open Unit of Ljubljana Prison, for example), on the other hand, this time there
were no longer any from Nova Gorica Unit of Koper Prison. In Radeče Correctional Facility
it was proposed that the management should check whether minors were being served with
a snack lunch/dinner in an appropriate manner since they claimed that they are not provided
with plates, and the trays on which the dinner is served are allegedly dirty. Such complaints
were received in Celje Prison and Juvenile Prison mainly by convicted persons who worked
and therefore it was proposed that the institution should check whether they receive their
snack in accordance with norms envisaged for them. In Ljubljana Prison dissatisfaction in
this regard was expressed by detainees (stating that food is not tasty enough, in small
quantities and that there is no knife served with the food, etc.).
In regard to visits, a finding from Maribor Prison has to be particularly pointed out in that it is
still crowded which is why it was proposed to arrange the room for visits as soon as possible
in such a manner so as to ensure for appropriate privacy. In the case of Celje Prison and
Juvenile Prison it has been emphasized that the institution should have been responsible
for the smooth running of visits and not inconveniencing prisoners and their visitors – as a
matter of fact, it had occurred that two visits of detainees taking place behind a glass wall
could not have taken place since two others were already going on. The institution urged the
detainees to coordinate timing with their visitors.
It was also discovered in some visits that prisoners’ access to house rules or the daily
agenda is doubtful. In Maribor Prison it was proposed that house rules and the daily agenda
be provided and available for detainees in every accommodation room at all times, whilst in
Celje Prison and Juvenile Prison it was desired to have the house rules regarding the serving
of juvenile sentences and prison sentences as well as the house rules regarding detainees,
translated into the languages of the citizens of former Yugoslavia and those other languages
that are most frequently encountered there. In the same institution, on the other hand, the
practice regarding the notification of relatives of convicted persons was complemented (an
open day when relatives may obtain information on everything they wish to know at stands
of the security department, education department, general department and public utility
service): The practice was also recommended by PARS to be used by all other institutions.
In Ljubljana Prison it was discovered that the house rules and daily agenda for detention and
prison sentences were not harmonised with the ZIKS-1, which is why it was proposed that
the institution’s internal legal documents should be immediately harmonised with applicable
regulations since, after all, they are linked to the implementation of rights and obligations of
persons in prison. At this point it is pertinent to point out an opinion by the Director General
of PARS which was received in reply to our report on the visit to Maribor Prison; although the
house rules and daily agenda is often intentionally torn up by individual detainees, it is the
institution that it is responsible for ensuring this implementing regulation is available in each
and every accommodation room.
National Preventive Mechanism in the Republic of Slovenia under the Optional Protocol to
the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
23
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