The material conditions in Kazichene Prison Hostel are good, save for the regular problems with the sewerage. The total living area in the Sofia Prison is 3,008 sq. m., which should provide 4 sq. m. for 752 inmates. According to the official information on the website, however, the Sofia Prison is with an area of 2,845 sq. m. and is intended for 670 inmates. If this area is split by 4 sq. m., the prison capacity appears to be 711 inmates. A total of 354 persons were placed in Kremikovtsi Prison Hostel, which has a capacity of 379 persons. At the time of the inspection, a total of 339 inmates were placed in Kazichene Prison Hostel, which has a capacity of 441 persons. The conclusion of the NPM is that the prison premises suffer traditionally from a general and partial overcrowding if the closed-type prison hostel cannot resolve the overcrowding, while at the same time there is a free capacity of more than 100 persons in the open-type prison hostel. This is why the NPM recommends to the head of the prison to apply in a broader manner the option of transferring inmates to the open-type prison hostel, including if need be by reversing the regime for serving time, so as to avoid a general and partial overcrowding in the main prison building and the closed-type prison hostel, and to avoid partial overcrowding, too, with the consent of the inmates. As regards hygiene, the NPM has established on numerous occasions a systemic problem with bed bugs and cockroaches in the places for deprivation of liberty. Even regular monthly disinfection appears to be ineffective. This is why the NPM recommends to the Minister of Justice to extend the list of authorized items and include bed bugs and cockroaches repellents since this problem exists throughout the system for execution of punishments. There is no usable canteen in the main prison building or the corridors, thus inmates eat in their rooms. There are canteens in Kremikovtsi Prison Hostel but these are in a poor condition thus inmates eat in the sleeping rooms, too. In Kazichene Prison Hostel there is a large canteen hence meals are not taken in the sleeping rooms. It is a fact that there are no available rooms in the closed-type detention facilities where to take meals or carry out any social activities. Hygiene in the inspected premises used as canteens and the service premises was established to be satisfactory as far as this was possible in the old dilapidated and unrepaired buildings. The NPM received again numerous complaints about the prices in the prison shops run by the Prison Production State-Owned Enterprise. This problem did not exist when the shops were leased to external traders. The lists of authorized items that can only be purchased by the Prison Production State-Owned Enterprise with a view to maintaining the prison security in fact creates a monopoly for this public supplier whose rights of capital are exercised on behalf of the State by the Minister of Justice. A public procurement tender for supply by traders by the provision of three offers, with constantly fluctuating prices, can never reach their market levels. The NPM has recommended many times to discontinue these public procurement tenders due to the fact that goods are purchased for sale purposes and thus abuse of public funds is ruled out if the deliveries are made by the territorial units of the Prison Production State-Owned Enterprise from large stores and local producers. Visiting arrangements should allow prisoners to keep and develop their family relations as far as possible. Unfortunately, there is no progress made as regards repealing legal contradictions in the Implementing Rules that allow for unequal treatment during visiting of men and women serving time in closed-type facilities (with and without bars, according to the sex). The recommendation of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture to introduce bar-less 13