The Ministry of Justice considers it is inopportune to amnesty or pardon and release persons held in jails in order to reduce the risk of infection with the novel coronavirus in penitentiaries, as the ombudsman recommended on April 8, IPN reports.

The response that came from the Ministry of Justice says that measures were taken during the pandemic to minimize contact with the outside so as to prevent the spread of infections in jails and to guarantee the realization of the rights of persons in detention.

The message says that by the order made by the Ministry of Justice on March 12, a special regime was instituted in the penitentiary system and the detainees suspected of having contracted the virus started to be tested for COVID-19 so as to swiftly isolate the prisoners confirmed with the infection and to provide appropriate medical assistance to them.

During the public health emergency declared by the National Extraordinary Commission for Public Health on May 15, the criminal cases, including requests to issue and extend arrest warrants and matters concerning the servicing of sentences, are examined only through videoconferencing or in appropriate spaces at penitentiaries, without the consent of the detainee being needed. The investigation actions in relation to persons deprived of liberty are performed at penitentiary institutions.

Earlier, the ombudsman recommended that the Ministry of Justice should make use of all the available alternatives to detention so as to reduce crowdedness in national jails in connection with the pandemic. According to the ombudsman, the reduction of the jail populations is indispensable in order to ensure the efficient implementation of sanitary regulations given the reduced capacities and possibilities of penitentiary hospitals.