9
7. CPT PRINCIPLE
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the competent public authorities and all facilities where persons are
deprived of their liberty in the territory of the Council of Europe must fully respect the fundamental
rights of detained persons, which includes in particular the right to maintain adequate personal
hygiene (including access to hot water and soap) and the right of daily access to the open air (of at
least one hour); any restrictions on contact with the outside world, including visits, should be
compensated for by increased access to alternative means of communication (such as telephone or
Voice-over-Internet-Protocol communication).
NPM FINDING
According to the notification received by the NPM from the Administration for the Enforcement of Penal
Sanctions by official letter dated 14 April 2020, the Director of the Administration issued an order to
allow convicted persons to make maximum use of telephone booths, as well as detainees in consultation
with adjudicating judges.
All measures to safeguard the health of their residents, contributing to the preservation of staff health,
are complied with in all visited facilities. In all visited correctional institutions, access to hot water and
means for maintaining hygiene were provided.
In the Penal-Correctional Institution Belgrade, outdoor exercise for convicted persons has been extended
to four hours, and for persons placed under increased supervision it lasts two hours. Sports halls are
open for use, however people do not use them as much as before the outbreak of their own volition.
Telephone calls are enabled every day and two telephone booths are installed on the promenade. Mail
and submissions are received and sent regularly.
In the District Prison Belgrade, outdoor exercise lasts for two hours. During the visit, we were informed
that an agreement with the competent courts is underway to allow detainees telephone calls, and after
the visit, we were notified that telephone booths had been set up in the Detention Department. All
convicts are allowed one more telephone call. Mail and submissions are received and sent regularly.
In the Penal-Correctional Institution Belgrade – Padinska Skela, outdoor exercise lasts for two hours.
Telephone calls are allowed every day and one telephone booth in the closed ward of the Institution,
which houses 7 people, has been moved to the hallway in front of the dormitories. Mail and submissions
are received and sent regularly.
In the Penal-Correctional Institution Sremska Mitrovica, convicted persons are allowed one more
telephone call, while detainees cannot make telephone calls since there are no conditions for installing
telephone booths in the part of the institution where they are held. There were 530 people in the open
and semi-open part of the institution on the day of the visit, and these people were working. Mail and
submissions are received and sent regularly.
Neither visited correctional institution provided the possibility of communication with family members
via the Internet.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration for the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions shall take the necessary action to ensure
that all persons deprived of their liberty may maintain contact with family members and other close
persons by telephone in all institutions for the enforcement of penal sanctions, in the event of a ban
or restriction of visits due to a disease outbreak or other emergency. If the ban or restriction lasts
longer, it is necessary to provide for other alternative means of communication, including
communication over the Internet by using available programs for the transmission of images and
sound.