04 April 2005

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Press release

International Helsinki Federation Releases Report from NGO Monitoring Mission in Places of Detention in Bulgaria

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Sofia, Vienna, 4 April, 2005. The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and seven partner Helsinki Committees today released a new Report From The Visit of the Delegation of Human Rights NGOs to Places of Detention in Bulgaria.*

On 27 and 28 September 2004 representatives of the IHF conducted a mission on monitoring places of detention in the Republic of Bulgaria. The mission was the third under the project "Preventing Torture in the Closed Institutions of Central and Eastern Europe", financed by the European Commission. The delegation included representatives from the following organizations: Association for the Prevention of Torture, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Greek Helsinki Monitor, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of Macedonia, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), and the Moscow Helsinki Group.

In Bulgaria the delegation visited four types of institutions:

• Institutions for confinement of persons sentenced for criminal offences or detained on suspicion for having committed an offence under the authority of the Ministry of Justice;

• Institutions for involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation for the purposes of active treatment of mentally ill individuals under the authority of the Ministry of Health;

• Institutions for involuntary placement of delinquent children for the purposes of "compulsory education" under the authority of the Ministry of Education and Science;

• Institutions for involuntary placement of persons with developmental disabilities for the purposes of social care under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

The IHF delegation received some cooperation from the Bulgarian authorities, which allowed it to conduct a meaningful mission and to formulate a number of recommendations on all types of facilities visited. This cooperation, however, was insufficient. The delegation always insists on conducting private interviews with inmates. Unfortunately, the delegation members were not able to do this in all of the facilities it visited. Bulgarian legislation still preserves some outdated principles that do not allow contacts of remand prisoners with private individuals and groups, even for the purposes of human rights monitoring. In some establishments the directors and other staff members tried to control the team's visit and prevent private conversations with inmates, especially when members of the delegations took interest in abuses of the authorities. An additional obstacle to the delegation's mission was the incompetence of some of the staff members, who failed to answer delegation's questions and to produce the necessary data.

In the Ministry of Justice facilities, the IHF delegation found that the Bulgarian government still struggles with the heritage of the previous outdated system of custody, which is incompatible with international standards for the treatment of prisoners. This system does not allow for more diversified forms of custody, including a possibility for placement of detainees in individual and small-group cells and dormitories. The delegation found that the conditions of detention were inhuman in several facilities it visited, but especially at the pre-trial detention facilities of Plovdiv and Nova Zagora. It recommended complete withdrawal of service of the Nova Zagora pre-trial detention facility and serious improvement of the material conditions of the Plovdiv pre-trial detention facility. It also recommended improvements of the conditions of custody in several prisons, especially in the wards where life-sentenced prisoners and prisoners undergoing disciplinary sanctions were held.

The Bulgarian system does not deal adequately with the complaints of ill treatment and with inter-prisoner violence. Medical care in the prisons is not integrated with the national health care system and is of a poor quality. The IHF delegation was particularly appalled by the practice it observed in some prisons to charge inmates for the medicines they take in the prison. It observed serious flaws in the ensuring of contacts with the outside world, including routine censorship of the correspondence in violation of international standards. In several facilities delegation members found that prisoners were not offered any activities. The situation with the prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment was particularly serious in that regard. In some facilities even the one-hour outdoor exercise, envisaged as a minimum by both the Bulgarian law and the international standards for treatment of prisoners, was not ensured. Although the legislative framework regulating disciplinary proceedings underwent some positive changes recently, it still allows for arbitrary exercise of disciplinary powers and lacks sufficient due process guarantees.

In the Ministry of Health facilities, the IHF delegation observed that at the time of the visit the Bulgarian system of civil commitment for involuntary psychiatric treatment allowed for arbitrary placement in psychiatric hospitals in violation of international standards. It also made possible the treatment of involuntary patients without asking for their consent. The delegation noted with satisfaction the changes of the law that took effect since January 1, 2005. During its visit to the Karlukovo Psychiatric Hospital the delegation observed poor material conditions in some wards. The food was apparently insufficient, despite some improvements. The methods of treatment were not sufficiently diversified and the patients were not offered meaningful activities during the day. Several patients complained of physical abuse from other patients. long-term isolation, as well as restraint of patients in front of other patients appeared to be routine practices in the hospital.

In the Ministry of Education and Science facilities, the IHF delegation found that the procedure for the placement in the schools for delinquent children is still arbitrary and requires further reform. In the Special Educational Boarding School in Gabrovtsi the delegation observed that the material conditions were inhuman and that the children were not protected from physical abuse. The educational process was seriously flawed and the students were not offered a meaningful program of activities. The delegation urged the Bulgarian government to seriously reconsider the future of the schools for delinquent children as they deprive the students from a family environment and hardly serve the purposes of rehabilitation of the juvenile delinquents.

In the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare facilities, the IHF observed that the living conditions and the quality of care in the two homes for people with mental disabilities it visited were substandard, and that in the social care home in Batoshevo they were inhuman. The procedure for placement in these institutions was arbitrary. The delegation observed practices of prolonged and unjustified seclusion and serious flaws in ensuring the personal security of the residents. Medical care was inadequate and meaningful programs for rehabilitation were lacking. The delegation recommended substantial improvement of the material conditions and the quality of care in the Batoshevo home or its withdrawal from service.

For additional information: Krassimir Kanev, Chair, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, ++359 885 839 801.

* The report is available online on the web sites of the International Helsinki Federation (http://www.ihf-hr.org) and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (http://www.bghelsinki.org).

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