The deputy protector gave recommendations to UIKS: The religion of prisoners must be respected

The institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms has given a recommendation to the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS) to take care of the distribution of food to prisoners in accordance with their religious beliefs.

This recommendation in the opinion of the deputy protector Nerma Dobardžić refers to the case of a prisoner who filed a complaint about the conditions in Spuz.

The complainant said that when he refused to eat pork food at UIKS, the officers insulted him and cursed him on a national basis.

The representatives of the institution of the Protector visited the premises where there were eight prisoners, of which two were Turkish citizens. One of them stated, "that it happens that they give pork meat, because the beef allegedly disappears".

UIKS said that they take strict care of prisoners who do not eat pork.

Dobardžić notes that following dietary rules prescribed by a religion or philosophical system is a practice protected by the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

In the complainant's complaint, it is stated, among other things, that the officials canceled his regular and extraordinary bathing, which the prison doctor prescribed for him because of his medical condition - psoriasis.

In its statement, the management of UIKS assesses these allegations as untrue. From the tour of the premises of the UIKS and the interviews with prisoners and officials, it follows that a diary of daily events is kept, where, among other things, information about extraordinary bathing is entered with the official's signature. However, the signature of the detained person is missing as proof that the extraordinary bathing was actually carried out, which the institution of the Protector considers to be a deficiency in record keeping.

"Also, the protector notes that the possibility of showering once or twice a week, although in accordance with the Rulebook on the closer method of execution of detention, in the described circumstances cannot be considered sufficient for adequate maintenance of personal hygiene, especially in the case when the imprisoned person has health problems, because of which the doctor suggests regular and extraordinary maintenance of personal hygiene", according to Dobardžić's report.

She recommended that the complainant be provided with conditions for regular and extraordinary maintenance of personal hygiene, in the interest of preserving his state of health.

In this opinion, the Institution of the Protector did not have any conclusions related to the physical conflict between prisoners and UIKS officers.