Convicts of Spuša prison claim that the problems in that penitentiary institution have piled up, and that the management is not solving them, but is pushing them under the carpet.
In a letter submitted to "Vijesti", the convicts claim that in response to the violation of their rights, the administration of the Institute for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions improved their lunch one day, so they ate moussaka that day.
"Prisoners protested about the food. Most of them are fed by families paying us money and we buy groceries in the prison canteen, because the meals they prepare are cheap. A new kitchen was opened, but neither the quality nor the quantity of the food we receive has improved. In On Thursday, for the first time, we got moussaka for lunch, so that they would not go on strike and keep quiet about the violation of our rights," the prisoner's letter reads.
They claim that the management of ZIKS has not yet acted on the recommendations of the ombudsman and conducted an internal investigation and an impartial disciplinary procedure against the officials who, in retaliation for the incident in January 2015, tortured the convicts.
"The head of the treatment ... violates the rights of prisoners by not giving the convicts a positive opinion when giving an opinion on the decision on parole if the remainder of the sentence is more than a year and therefore affects the negative decisions of the court. Such application of the law is discriminatory and violates the rights of convicts to longer sentences even though these convicts meet the requirements of the Law," the prisoners claim.
They wrote that there are privileged prisoners in the Institution.
"Individual convicts, although they meet the conditions, cannot get the first classification group and the possibility of transfer to a semi-open department, while others who do not meet the conditions are already on the economy. Those sentenced to 40 years do not stay in the F department, as it should be, because it is a part of the prison where security has been increased and where such convicts could exercise at least some rights, but rather in pavilion C, where there are prisoners who have committed disciplinary offences. rights are threatened," said the prisoners.
In their letter, it is written that those sentenced to mandatory treatment stay in ZIKS, and not in the clinic in Dobrota, allegedly due to the lack of hospital beds in that health facility. "They fill up the 'marica' and take those convicts to Kotor for one day, so that the doctors can cancel their treatment, although they should not do that without undergoing treatment in the hospital in Kotor. If there is no room in that institution, they would have to serve their sentence in another hospital in Montenegro, because the court did not sentence them to prison, but to a measure of treatment. Some convicts who served that sentence in prison intend to file a lawsuit against ZIKS," wrote the convicts.
They claim that the Institute did not allow convicts who studied before coming to prison to continue their education. "There are convicts here who studied earlier. The institution did not help them to the extent that they should have finished college, because it is a big thing for the whole society that convicts raise their level of education.
The announcements by the Ministry of Justice that they would open educational facilities at ZIKS remained only promises, as despite the walking of various delegations on the runway of ZIKS, their parade through the KP Dom, the remaining problems in the Institute and between the walls of the prison remained the truth about the rights of prisoners. But maybe Musaka will help," he wrote in the letter delivered to "Vijesti".
Convicted minors do not receive treatment prescribed by law
Convicts claim that minors do not have the treatment prescribed by law.
"A juvenile prison with four rooms makes five years, although the law and the Constitution protect that group, because a person who commits a criminal offense as a minor should not serve the sentence with other convicts. In addition, the compensation for the convict's work is not what it should be - a third of the average salary, prisoners with poor financial conditions are in a subordinate position, certain laws are discriminatory for returnees", the prisoners claim in the letter.
Health care is not satisfactory
The prisoners also complained about health care, which is "not at a satisfactory level".
They cited a recent example when help was allegedly not provided in time to a convict who died after a heart attack while walking in the grounds of the Spuž Prison.
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