2. Prisons and secure preventive detention Other systemic problems ― The Government accepted the Defender’s recommendation and, as from 1 January 2020, the remuneration of imprisoned persons will be linked to the minimum salary. So far, it has always been necessary to change the relevant regulation whenever the amount of remuneration is to be increased, which could take as long as 17 years. A convict’s average monthly salary in 2018 was CZK 4,345. The basic monthly rate is newly 50% of the minimum salary. Convict labour continues to be attractive for private employers and decent remuneration will help convicts repay their debts already during the service of their term in prison (as debts are a factor influencing the convicts’ tendency towards recidivism upon release). ― A complaint filed by a woman who had given birth to a child in a civil hospital during her remand in custody had a broader impact. The child remained in the hospital, but the mother had to return to the prison on the date of the birth. This case had eventually a happy ending as the woman was released from custody three days after she gave birth to the child. However, it was found that the separation of the mother and the child had not been necessary and had, in fact, been the result of poor communication between employees of the remand prison and 12 the only Czech prison with a specialised section for accused and convicted mothers of minor children. Therefore, the internal regulation governing, inter alia, filing of applications for placement in the specialised section will be reviewed. Defender’s report ― One of the topics of our systematic visits is the use of CCTV in cells. The topic was brought up because a prison had equipped several cells with cameras and unreasonably interfered with the prisoners’ right to privacy. The prison adopted remedial measures in the given case; specifically, its director determined who would decide on CCTV surveillance and how often the decision would be reconsidered, and also established certain safeguards for reasonable privacy. The only issue that remained unresolved was that, according to the Defender, cells equipped with CCTV should be reserved only for prisoners who are specifically subject to such supervision (similar to “crisis cells”, which are reserved only for a specific purpose). Defender’s report