The situation concerning the observance of human rights of minors held at Penitentiary No. 10 in Goian village of Dubăsari district has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ombudswoman for children’s rights Maia Bănărescu recently visited the prison in connection with the International Day of Families, IPN reports.

The children invoked the insufficiency and poor quality of food, the poor quality of water that has an unpleasant smell, the lack of a diversified menu adjusted to their growth and development needs, absence of fruit from the daily menu. Some of the children complained about allergic reactions to lactose, saying this fact is ignored by the penitentiary’s administration.

Problems were also identified in the realization of the right to education of the detainees. The minors who completed the ninth grade cannot study at lyceum. Maia Bănărescu formulated relevant recommendations in her previous reports, but these weren’t implemented. The children are not provided with school supplies for studying and for doing the homework. They said that history wasn’t taught to them during the school year, but they will have to sit an exam in this subject.

The right to health is also not respected. Some of the children said they often have headaches, toothaches and sleep disorders, but they are not examined by health professionals. For any health problem, they are given pills for headaches. The request to be transferred to Penitentiary No. 16 in Pruncul for checkups and treatment is usually rejected or ignored. The children said they are not informed about the health problem they have and the treatment they are to receive. The parents are not informed about the children’s health problem and this is a violation, said Maia Bănărescu.

The children also complained about the poor detention conditions and the shortage of personal hygiene products, clothes and footwear. The minors’ right to family is also violated. Some of the detainees said they cannot phone home as they do not have a special phone card, while others said the letters addressed to their families weren’t sent and this has a serious impact on their psycho-emotional state.

For fully ensuring the minors’ right to communicate with the family, the ombudswoman reiterated the recommendation she formulated at the start of the pandemic – to increase the number of telephone discussions on account of visits that are not paid due to the pandemic. A mechanism for filing complains is still absent and this discourages the children from denouncing cases of human rights violations.

Thirty-five children are now held at the penitentiary for minors in Goian.