The illegitimate measures by which the National Penitentiary Administration undertook to reduce overcrowding in prisons will again result in Romania’s condemnation by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Trade Unions Federation of the National Penitentiary Administration (FSANP), psychologists and educators from the Deva Penitentiary argue in a statement, according to Agerpres.

„With the complicity of the National Penitentiary Administration, the Deva Penitentiary plans to repurpose the classrooms, the social assistance offices, the psychological offices and the library of the penitentiary’s detention sections E5 and E6 into into detention rooms for inmates. The measure adopted by Deva Penitentiary and the National Penitentiary Administration affects the working conditions of penitentiary police officers and will inevitably render the prisoners’ reintegration impossible, with serious consequences on the increase of recidivism in Romania. Citizens will become victims of unrehabilitated offenders and the Romanians will pay for the lack of vision and responsibility of penitentiary police decision-makers. Romania will again end up being condemned by the ECHR for being unable to ensure the social & educational activities and school training for inmates,” FSANP said.

The modernization of the Deva Penitentiary detention sections E5 and E6 was completed recently; according to the project, the facility includes 4 classrooms and a dedicated secure break space for teachers, as well as a storage room for educational materials, a social assistance office, a psychological office and a library.

Due to insufficient working spaces, sometimes educators, social workers and psychologists are compelled to conduct their educational and psycho-social assistance activities in the hallways of the detention sections (work on their lap).

The teachers and educators tasked with carrying out school activities with the inmates declare themselves discontent with the inappropriate spaces offered by the management of the Deva Penitentiary. The teaching staff sent the director of the penitentiary a request to ensure optimal spaces for the inmates’ educational needs, as specified and committed to by the Deva Penitentiary through the Cooperation Protocol concluded with the Hunedoara County School Inspectorate and the ‘Transylvania Deva’ Technological High School, but they did not receive a favorable response.

„Cosmin Dorobantu, president of the Trade Unions Federation of the National Administration of Penitentiaries, calls on the Justice Ministry to supervise the implementation by the National Administration of Penitentiaries of the decisions of the pilot ruling Rezmives and others vs. Romania handed down by the European Court of Human Rights, as the arbitrary and illegitimate measures of the management of the National Penitentiary Administration impinge on the working conditions of the prison police officers, the social reintegration of the prisoners, pave the way for a new condemnation of Romania by the ECHR, and will increase the rate of recidivism,” the FSANP release states.
Agerpres