16
THE GREEK OMBUDSMAN
The team then visits the facility’s spaces, accompanied by administration
representatives, conferring with the prisoners in groups or, if practicable,
individually. During this communication, wardens remain outside of the room
or cell if requested to do so. During the visit, the team may take pictures of
the facility, it engages in conversations with the inmates with no staff present and it visits all areas of the facility (cells, dormitories, disciplinary cells,
new-entrants hall, doctor’s offices, cooking areas, recreation areas, library,
workshops, management offices etc.), it examines the record of injuries
and, on occasion, the prisoners’ medical files, decisions that grant or refuse
temporary release etc. It also asks for samples of the above documents and
of food portions. The team also examines work placement lists in order to
determine if all interested prisoners have access to working positions and
that these alternate amongst them. Lastly, the inmates’ sense of personal
security is investigated. The prisoners are informed about the competencies of the NPM and the Ombudsman and they are encouraged to submit a
complaint to the Ombudsman on any matter within its competence. In fact,
those complaints are often received by the team members during their visit
or they are sent by mail immediately after that.
Throughout the visit, the team’s specialised scientists record their observations in writing or electronically, take photographs of anything notable in the
areas visited, and generally collect the material that will be used for drafting
their report and their suggestions or observations for the administration.
After the visit to the facility’s spaces has been completed, the team meets
with the director once again in order to set out the problems that the team
may have observed or any complaints made by the prisoners. Whenever
possible, the team also meets a representative of the wardens’ union and
the external guard.
Immediately after the inspection, team members share their views with each
other, and in the following days the report is drafted, filed in the special
“OPCAT archive” and sent to the facility inspected, along with any suggestions and observations, and is also forwarded to the General Directorate of
Crime and Penitentiary Policy of the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and
Human Rights. The report constitutes the basis for preparing the follow-up
visit to the facility and for monitoring the implementation of the suggested
recommendations.
During 2018, the methodology of inspections was enriched by the implementation of new tools and practices that, from the start, have proven to
be successful. More particularly:
• The timing of certain inspections was expanded over a period of
two (2) days (detention facilities in Domokos and Nafplio, Rural
adult Detention Facility in Tiryntha).
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