The conditions in Transnistrian prisons remain the same as in Soviet times. The detentions methods are severe and the punishments too harsh, Info-Prim Neo learned from Alexandru Zubco, coordinator of the Legal Department of the Resource and Development Center for Transnistria within Promo-Lex Association. Alexandru Zubco says that one of the worst problems in prisons is overpopulation. On the right side of the Nistru there are 19 jails with 6000 prisoners, but in the Transnistrian region there are 3 prisons with 3000 inmates. There are 3 prisoners for one bed and 2 meters of space per person, while international rules stipulate 4 meters. Another problem is food. According to a report of Promo-Lex Association, the food has worms, junk and stale products. The water is full of rust and has a bad smell. In most cells in some jails there are no tables. The sanitary conditions are degrading as well. WCs are improvised: a bucket, covered or not, in the corner of the cell. These are not separated by a wall so that inmates are denied any privacy. They wash once a week and wash their clothes with cool water and dry them in the cell. Prisoners don’t have access to medical care, as there are no medicines and no qualified medical staff. “The prisons on the left bank of the Nistru aren’t monitored. Nobody knows what happens there except for the inmates. This may be because they use torture and ill-treatments there or because there are no resources. Perhaps both”, said the expert. Alexandru Zubco declared that the legislation in this field is severer in the Transnistrian region compared to Moldova’s Penal Code or even that of Russia. If the law in Chisinau punishes hooliganism with a fine or community service, in Tiraspol hooliganism such as breaking a window is punishable by 5 years in jail. Additionally, Alexandru Zubco noted that in Transnistrian prisons had more Moldovan inmates than Russian or Ukrainian. There are two prisons in Tiraspol and one in Grigoriopol.