The Civic Alliance monitoring team visited the police station in Bijelo Polje unannounced and found that the rights of persons deprived of their liberty are being most severely violated in the detention facilities, the NGO announced.
Dilapidated furniture, dilapidated infrastructure and hygienic conditions below the prescribed minimum make these premises completely unsuitable for living, the statement states.
"Unfortunately, during our visits to other security departments throughout Montenegro, we did not find significantly better conditions, but the fact that the headquarters of the Regional Security Center 'North' is located in Bijelo Polje makes the situation extremely alarming. Instead of serving as an example of good practice, this Department has become an illustration of the serious neglect of the system."
The lack of will on the part of the authorities to improve the situation is also confirmed by the fact that police officers from the Bijelo Polje Police Station, through internal letters, have repeatedly pointed out to the authorities the unacceptable conditions, demanding specific steps. However, despite warnings from within the system itself, there have been no reactions that would improve the situation," said the Civic Alliance.
Such institutional passivity, the NGO assesses, demonstrates a serious lack of responsibility and clearly testifies to the chronic neglect of issues that directly affect the basic human rights and security of every individual.
"We recall that a new visit by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) has been announced for this year. However, examples like this clearly suggest that most previous recommendations, including those from the 2022 visit, have not been taken into account, so the implementation of international standards has remained just a dead letter on paper.
"We expect an immediate reaction from the authorities and publicly appeal that the detention facilities in the Bijelo Polje Security Department be immediately taken out of use due to the extremely inadequate conditions," the statement concludes.
Bonus video:
