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proriate to their needs. NPM sent a recommendation, proposing that such persons should be placed in
a special medical institution, the Special Prison Hospital, and possibly in stationary health care unit within the prison, provided with the conditions for their treatment and care.
Compared to previous reporting period, a certain improvement was observed with regard to the provision of health care services and proper keeping of medical records in the Penal Correctional Institution
for women in Požarevac121. In the mentioned penitentiary institution doctor regularly examines all the
female convicts at intervals not exceeding three months, with the elements of the first medical examination, and if coercive measures were applied, a report on medical examination includes a statement
of a female convict regarding the manner in which the injury was inflicted, as well as a medical opinion
on causal link between the injuries and coercive measures. When there are indications that the injury
was caused by acts of violence, the medical report is submitted to the warden. A doctor submits to a
warden, in writing, findings and recommendations on the amount and quality of food, sanitary and hygiene conditions in the penitentiary institution, as well as on the physical activities of female prisoners.
In the previous reporting period, it was found that during the prison sentence the right to physical
and mental integrity was violated to one person, i.e. he was subjected to torture. A recommendation
was sent to the competent authority in order to establish the liability of the officers, which was not
acted upon.122 An official notification about the case together with the relevant documentation was
delivered to Public Prosecutor’s Office, but during the reporting period the prosecution discontinued the
proceedings. In the lack of an adequate response of the competent authorities, the convicted person in
question, submitted a constitutional complaint, regarding which, in mid-2013, the Constitutional Court,
issued a judgment confirming that the prisoner’s right to physical and mental integrity123 at the time
of serving a prison sentence was violated. The above decision is an important step in the fight against
impunity of those responsible for acts of torture in the Republic of Serbia.
Administration for the Execution Criminal Sanctions, i.e. institutions for the execution of criminal
sanctions, need to fulfill their role to the full extent in the future, regarding the fight against impunity
and ill-treatment, by taking all necessary measures and actions to prevent ill-treatment, conducting
timely and thorough procedures to examine all the arguable claims concerning ill-treatment, and
establishing individual (subjective and objective) responsibility of the personnel.
Control visit to the Penal Correctional Institution in Sremska Mitrovica
In order to monitor whether it was acted according to the recommendations made in the report on the
visit to the Penal Correctional Institution in Sremska Mitrovica in 2012124, the NPM conducted a followup visit on 21 June 2013, to the Penal Correctional Institution in Sremska Mitrovica as one of the largest
prisons in Serbia, and on this occasion found that the mentioned Penal Correctional Institution, out of
65 recommendations made, acted upon 21 to the full extent, and partially upon 15 recommendations.
It was not acted upon 29 recommendations.
The greatest number of recommendations not acted upon refers to the material or accommodation
conditions. The reason for not acting in accordance with these recommendations is, according to officials,
the lack of financial resources. However, a significant number of recommendations not acted upon, is
related to the provision of health care services in the institutions for the execution of criminal sanctions.
Recommendations not acted upon are related to the following: proper keeping of the protocol, proper
keeping of information about the health care services provided; ban on the presence of non-medical
staff to medical examinations of detainees; daily examinations of persons deprived of liberty who are
ill; administration of injections and infusions in the sick room, and not through the bars; physician’s
recommendations to the prison warden regarding the necessary physical activities of persons deprived
of liberty, etc..
121
122
123
124
NPM report on the visit of the Penal Correctional Institution for women in Požarevac, No.71-66/13.
Matter No. 12-3630/12.
Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia No. Уж- 4100/2011.
NPM report on the visit to the Penal Correctional Institution for women in Sremska Mitrovica, No. 71-161/12.
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