Today, Justice Minister Nela Kuburović met with the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer to discuss the enforcement of criminal sanctions in Serbia and the conditions for prisoners inside correctional-prison institutes.

Minister Kuburović noted that the conditions for prisoners inside the correctional-prison institutes in Serbia had been improved and that there had been a significant progress in the prevention of torture. That – she explained - had been confirmed in the reports by the Ombudsman, the National Prevention Mechanism and the competent parliamentary board and in the statements of over 300 persons serving sentences. Kuburović noted that in the previous several years, infrastructural capacities of the institutes had been increased and, consequently, the housing conditions for the prisoners improved.

She added that the latest Council of Europe report showed that Serbia was no longer the lowest ranked country in terms of prison housing capacities, because the ratio had gone from 156 prisoners:100 places in 2012, to 106 prisoners:100 places in 2017. Kuburović said that she expected Serbia’s ranking to improve in 2018, considering that the construction of a new prison in Pančevo housing 500 prisoners was nearing to an end and the construction of a new prison in Kragujevac was expected. The Minister added that efforts had simultaneously been made towards the development of the legal framework which would advance the protection of prisoners’ rights.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture stressed that Serbia had made efforts and great and important steps towards the enforcement of criminal sanctions. He commended the conditions in the Sremska Mitrovica prison which the UN Delegation had visited, explaining that he found the conditions much better than several years prior, but noting that the prison still faced the problem of overcrowding. Melzer highlighted that prison overcrowding could be reduced with a higher number of alternative sanctions being pronounced and a higher number of paroles granted.

The Head of the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions Directorate Milan Stevović noted that, in May 2017, the Serbian Government had adopted a Prison Overcrowding Reduction Strategy which envisaged an improvement of prison capacities and conditions for the prisoners and a further development of the alternative sanctions system and measures and the trustee service. He added that the prison staff were dedicated to the exercise of prisoners’ rights and the prevention of torture, announcing that an EU Twinning Project would commence by mid-next year, which included the training of the security services members working within the prisons’ Health and Medical Treatment Units.