Part I
pointed out that in prison cells, the placement of a washbasin (as the only
facility for washing) outside the sanitary area separated from the rest of the
cell by a permanent structure means that the conditions of maintaining personal hygiene do not meet legal, cultural and social standards.
The National Headquarters of the Prison Service, in a letter of 5 April
201653, upheld, however, the opinion that the existing solution is appropriate
and does not violate the right to intimacy during the maintenance of personal hygiene because, in their view, washbasins are not intended for maintaining intimate hygiene.
It is difficult to agree with this opinion, especially bearing in mind that
intimacy while maintaining personal hygiene needs to be respected not only
in relation to certain parts of the body. The individual feeling of shame, experienced by prisoners, justifies the need to ensure conditions for washing
and other hygiene activities out of sight of other persons. Consequently, all
sanitary facilities, not only toilets, should be placed within the cell’s sanitary
area. Moreover, if a washbasin is located outside the sanitary area, prisoners
can wash their hands only after leaving the area. This is certainly not conducive to maintaining proper hygienic habits and may cause the transmission
of bacteria from the sanitary area to the cell.
The issue will still be monitored by the NMPT.
8. Access of prisoners to public information
The CHR’s postulate to extend the catalogue of rights of persons deprived
of liberty, set out in Article 102 of the Executive Penal Code, by the right of
access to information contained in the Public Information Bulletin still has
not been met.
This issue is constantly monitored by the NMPT representatives during
their preventive visits to penitentiary establishments. Unfortunately, their
findings indicate that the level of prisoners’ awareness of the possibility of
access to the Public Information Bulletin is insufficient. This confirms the
need to regulate the issue by way of a parliamentary act.
Reply of Deputy Director General of the Prison Service of 5.04.2016, ref. no. BDG-070-28 / 16/208.
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