38 wards seemed to indicate that the force used on them had been disproportionate and was not intended to subdue them, but to intentionally cause them pain. Accordingly, the NPM recommended that the physician of the Facility should describe all injuries in detail, regardless of the circumstances in which they were sustained, and that the warden of the Facility should undertake measures without delay to ensure that each case in which use of force is involved can be analysed on the basis of complete medical documentation and to ensure that it can be determined beyond doubt that the minimum amount of force required was used against the wards and the use of force was not an excuse for intentional infliction of pain upon juvenile offenders. The Facility also complied with the NPM’s recommendation in connection with Record of Injuries. Namely, the NPM recommended that the existing Record of Injuries should include both the allegations made by the examined person concerning the origin of the injuries and the physician’s conclusion on the manner in which the injuries occurred, i.e. The physician’s medical opinion whether the injuries could have occurred in the manner alleged by the injured person. Furthermore, the Facility introduced the practice whereby its physician makes entries of all instances of bodily harm in dedicated Record of Injuries. Acting in compliance with the NPM’s recommendations, the Facility and the Administration for Enforcement of Penal Sanctions worked together with representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development to ensure that the diplomas issued to the Facility’s wards at the end of their vocational training courses at the Facility are recognised as valid and equivalent to the diplomas received from regular VET schools, to enable the Facility’s wards to compete in the job market for specific jobs on an equal footing with other members of the community. General recommendations for remedying the identified shortcomings The recommendations of the Protector of Citizens which concern improvements in the accommodation arrangements at penal facilities have not been implemented. Large penal and correctional facilities (“Zabela” in Požarevac and facilities in Sremska Mitrovica and Niš) remain overcrowded. The Ministry of Justice should undertake measures within its sphere of competence in order to ensure that there is more than one penal and correctional facility for women and more than one penal and correctional facility/juvenile facility where juveniles serve their prison sentences/juvenile corrections sentences. Many persons serving prison sentences are not able to spend their spare time during the day outside the dormitories, in communal areas with other inmates. Numerous shortcomings persist in the provision of health care to persons serving prison sentences, primarily due to the lack of medical staff, especially physicians – both general practitioners and specialists in psychiatry. There are also shortcomings in the procurement of medicines and treatment. Moreover, non-medical staff often attends medical examinations even when this is not demanded by a health care professional. Health care services in penal institutions report to those institutions, i.e. to the Administration for Enforcement of Penal Sanctions, instead of to the Ministry of Health. Incarcerated persons with mental disorders are still placed in the regular prison system, which is not appropriate for their medical and psychosocial treatment. Certain penal facilities (e.g. “Zabela” in Požarevac) lack corrections officers they need for proper correctional treatment of inmates, in particular for individual and group sessions with the inmates, which hinders functional and reward-based assignment of inmates to specific groups and the award of extended privileges to them.

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