The NMPT received disturbing information in the prison in Czarne where some prisoners
reported that the ward officers were wearing the same masks all day long and that the masks looked
dirty and worn. Inmates at the Czarne prison also reported that the common spaces were disinfected but
there were co commonly available hand disinfectants219.
In the remand prisons in Międzyrzecz and Warszawa-Białołęka and the prisons in Barczewo
and Krzywaniec, inmates could take part in the face mask sewing actions, to meet the needs of
individuals as well as entities such as health care facilities or nursing homes220.
The engagement of inmates in such activities should be assessed positively because prisoners
could not only spend their time productively but also develop supportive social attitudes. The help
provided by inmates was rewarded in various ways. In some establishments, the benefits were according
to the list of benefits provided for in the Criminal Executive Code. In the prison in Krzywaniec, the
Dialtech company that took place in the face mask sewing action offered to the inmates free of charge
cards for paid common telephones. Cards worth PLN 50 were given to 36 women who took place in the
masks sewing action.
Restrictions introduced in the establishments due to the COVID-19
pandemic
Due to the epidemic risk, all penitentiary establishments throughout the country introduced a
number of restrictions. In the first place, in order to reduce the possibility of the inmates becoming
infected, the possibility to receive visits and prisoners’ work for external entities were suspended. In the
vast majority of the establishments, the restrictions were extended for subsequent two-week periods.
In most of the establishments, religious services and meetings with representatives of churches
and religious associations were also suspended for the period of the epidemic. Due to this restriction, in
some establishments holy masses and programmes on religious subjects were broadcast via the prison
radio221. In the remand prison in Kraków, during the Holy Week and Easter the number of broadcasted
holy masses and programmes on religious subjects was increased. There were also religious-subject
broadcasts by prisoners from the Saint Joseph men’s group and the Pentecostal Church.
219
See: Report on the NMPT visits to the remand prison in Czarne (KMP.571.21.2020).
See: Reports on the NMPT visits to the remand prisons in Międzyrzecz (KMP.571.16.2020), Barczewo
(KMP.571.22.2020) and Krzywaniec (KMP.571.13.2020).
220
See: Reports on the NMPT visits to the remand prisons in Międzyrzecz (KMP.571.16.2020), Kraków
(KMP.571.9.2020) and Wrocław (KMP.571.11.2020) and the prison in Bydgoszcz-Fordon (KMP.571.24.2020).
221
86
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