Penitentiary no. 13 in Chisinau is suffering from severe overcrowding, with international prison population standards exceeded by 98.9%. The facility which was originally designed to accommodate 377 detainees currently accommodates 750, which requires an urgent revision of the procedures for calculating the detention capacity and the adjustment of the infrastructure, recommends the human rights organization Promo-LEX following an assessment.
The NGO says that the overpopulation of the facility, its outdated infrastructure and poor hygiene conditions amount to inhuman detention conditions and affect the health of detainees. “18% of the evaluated cells do not meet the minimum standard of 1 m2 per sanitary block. At the same time, 20% of the cells do not offer the appropriate level of privacy in the use of toilets, and the shared bathrooms are inaccessible for people with special needs and pose risks to the health of the inmates. There is a significant presence of mold in the shared bathrooms. Deficiencies in the sanitary block endanger the health and dignity of the inmates”, says the Promo-LEX survey.
Ventilation and lighting are also inadequate, contributing to an unhealthy and uncomfortable environment. 29% of cells have undersized windows that do not meet adequate ventilation standards. Mold and ammonia odors persist in the cells, which pose health risks to the inmates. In 62% of the cells the view from the window is severely obstructed by walls or other structures, and 4% have no visibility to the outside at all.
Artificial lighting is often reduced to a single light source, insufficient for cells occupied by several individuals. Inadequate ventilation and lighting conditions require auditing of ventilation, optimization of windows and revision of artificial lighting, as well as allocation of a budget for improvements, the survey also finds.
The Ministry of Justice for the first time showed its openness to an independent evaluation by civil society organizations, marking a significant step towards transparency and responsibility in the management of the prison system, noted Promo-LEX jurist and author of the report, Dumitru Russu.
One of the conclusions of the evaluation is the need for immediate intervention to ensure conditions that respect the human dignity and fundamental rights of detainees. Promo-LEX says that the implementation of the proposed recommendations will require strategic actions and the allocation of adequate resources from the authorities.
