Former inmates helped to return to society

More than 160 former inmates benefited in the first half of the year from free legal assistance at the Center for Social Reintegration of Prisoners and Former Prisoners, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Center was established in 2005 by the International Society for Human Rights – Moldovan Division (ISHR–MD). ISHR-MD chairwoman Liubov Nemcinova says the Center offers former prisoners assistance with finding a job, offers them information and training. Here former inmates are also helped to re-establish connections with their families. “The former inmates are making a great deal of effort to find a job and lead a decent living. The rejection by the society forces them back into the vicious circle of criminality. This leads to a high rearrest rate, with approximately 60 percent of them repeating offenses. We wish to help them overcome these difficult moments so that they are re-accepted by the society; that's the only way we can reduce the number of those who recidivate”, said Liubov Nemcinova in a statement issued by ISHR-MD. At the beginning of the year the Moldovan division of the International Society for Human Rights launched a project aimed to support released prisoners and help them reintegrate with the society. The project is financed by the European Commission and will last until December 2010.