Codlea Penitentiary Visit Report
Two representatives of APADOR-CH visited the Codlea Penitentiary, Brasov County, on 1 October 2002.
On the visit date, the penitentiary had 1,291 detainees, of which 960 had a final sentence, 126 were in pretrial detention, 185 sentenced by the first instance court, and 17 petty offenders (unpaid fines turned into terms in prison); there were 127 youths (118 boys and 9 girls), 27 under-aged (25 boys and 2 girls) and 43 women. Over-crowding became even a more serious problem after the visit paid by the Association’s representatives in 2001. The penitentiary has an official capacity of 640 places and can reach a maximum of 960 by installing additional beds. In 2001 there were 1103 detainees. One of the explanations is that the Codlea Penitentiary received detainees from the Miercurea-Ciuc Penitentiary, which has two sections under re-arrangement. They used 520 detainees on work, most of them to gather potatoes and for construction works at companies within the county.
The penitentiary’s cooperation with the NGO’s mainly resides in moral & civic and religious educational programs organized by the Humanitarian Service for Penitentiaries (with the children, women and youths) and the representatives of the Evangelical and Baptist churches (“Good News Church” in Brasov). The programs take place on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Besides the moral and religious education provided to their believers, the Evangelical representatives also bring them small presents delivered directly to the detainees. The Good News Church supports the penitentiary to print its own revue. The social-educational department has employed three officers: a teacher, a psychologist, and a sociologist.
Eighty detainees participate in the school courses for forms 1 – 8 and another 36 participate in the reading courses. Seventeen detainees have been trained as cooks (a new series of courses for this qualification is to be organized in two weeks). An issue related to the training courses is the insufficiency of money to pay the teachers. The penitentiary also intends to organize training courses for hairdressers and shoemakers, but the local Labor Force Agency did not make the necessary specifications about the “legal grounds” of this issue.
Two weeks ago, the penitentiary concluded a protocol with a visiting commission organized by the Brasov City Hall, consisting in City Hall representatives and some other persons belonging to the local community. This Commission has not visited the penitentiary by the visit of the Association’s representatives, and the penitentiary’s representatives did not know anything about such a possibility.
A Probation Service was organized within the Brasov Tribunal, whose activity currently consists in identifying the cases for which the courts could choose, through their resolutions, for alternatives to incarceration. The Service’s representatives analyze the cases of such detainees and provide the courts with their opinion.
In the beginning of August this year, 7 scab cases in aggravated form “with over-infection” appeared among the detainees. Two of the detainees had to be interned in the Jilava Penitentiary Hospital. The initial treatment was with sulfite and afterwards they used scabex ointment. Despite that, new cases came up and, by the end of September, there were 32 cases. The APADOR-CH representatives could hardly understand why the medical staff and the penitentiary officials did not manage to avoid the epidemic after having found the first 7 cases in the beginning of August. As well, one could hardly understand how it was possible to have 7 over-infection scab cases all of a sudden. The medical officials stated that a psychosis developed after the first cases and it hindered the finding of other real cases as they walked from one room to another and “everyone complained about itching”. Such a reason could convince only to a little extent when used by doctors having more than sufficient professional qualification to distinguish between a scab case and a faked (also during the incubation period of the disease parasite). In the APADOR-CH opinion, the disease of those 32 detainees is explained first of all by the malfunctioning prophylactic and sanitary measures and the medical department is the first responsible for that. The association does not know any other case of scab epidemic in the penitentiary system of Romania for the last years. The situation appeared at the Codlea penitentiary seems to be explained, in the association’s opinion, by the more-than-lax mentality too. “There is nothing special about this”(the epidemic), said one of the doctors (a colonel) in a discussion with the APADOR-CH representatives.
On the association’s visit, the medical department was disinfesting the rooms, the barracks equipage, and the detainees’ cloths and underwear. An issue the doctors were facing was the fear of some detainees to accept to have their underwear items - received from home - boiled, saying that they might be destroyed. The associations’ representatives thought that, in order to terminate the epidemic and prevent further occurrence, the penitentiary officials should fully assist the doctors so that the sanitary measures be strictly implemented as required in such a situation.
The number of daily medical consultations is about 70 – 80, sometimes 100, a situation that can only negatively influence the quality of the medical services rendered, a fact also recognized by the doctors. The Codlea penitentiary also uses the doctors to provide medical services to the military ranks. Compared to the previous visit, the situation is quite better as half the military ranks opted for family doctors. It seems that the other half will follow the same trend, but it is quite possible that the penitentiary doctors will also become family doctors and will still be over-loaded. APADOR-CH is convinced that had the doctors have spent reasonable time for checking the detainees and permanently monitored the hygiene in the detention rooms, the scab epidemic would have been avoided.
Throughout the year 2002, the penitentiary had 16 self-mutilation cases among the detainees. From the discussion had with the penitentiary officials, the representatives of the association could understand that self-mutilations are seen as deviations and therefore disciplinarily punished, even if not always. The association states once again that such an attitude should be abandoned as, by such acts, the detainees in most cases rather protest a measure or something else (adverse court decision, unpleasant family event, improper treatment while in detention or else).
In 2001, the penitentiary tested 100 detainees for HIV. The testing was only carried out on those detainees who agreed in writing. The results were treated in full confidentiality and all 100 investigations had negative results. Syphilis is a serious problem and, on the average, they monthly discover one syphilis case among the detainees.
Four detainees were hosted in Room 3 of the infirmary (chronic diseases), in 4 beds. They received margarine, one egg, marmalade and tea for breakfast, and chicken soup with rice, and pork stew for lunch. The patients who can and want to go for a walk do this every day, from Monday to Friday, for 30 – 60 minutes. There is no TV set, nor radio speaker in the room, but the detainees receive newspaper every day. In principle, the detainees have the right to make two phone calls every month, but there are months when they cannot phone but once. The official explanation was that the three telephones existing there are not sufficient for the large number of detainees. The weekly bath is taken on Saturdays. Unlike the other rooms visited, for reasons that were not very clear to the association’s representatives, Room 3 never has hot tap water. This room features a sink and a Turkish-style WC, but, unlike the other room visited, it does not have a shower. One of the detainees said that he could not participate in the services performed by the Greek Orthodox priest.
Room 31 hosted 10 under-aged persons (in 8 beds). These persons are daily taken out for a walk, before the school classes, from Monday to Friday, for about one hour. Compared to the adult detainees, the association’s representatives got the feeling that the social and educational department pays a bigger attention to the under-aged. The penitentiary periodically sets up meetings and discussions with the parents of the under-aged. Some of the under-aged participated in small plays that were played at the parental visits. On 1 and 8 March, the children from the school in Codlea performed shows for the under-aged in the penitentiary. The APADOR-CH representatives suggested the penitentiary officials to organize cultural and educational activities with the under-aged also outside the penitentiary, and supported this suggestion by the extremely beneficial examples in the educational centers and the minors penitentiary. An issue that required an urgent solution is that there was no TV set in the room for almost three months and the radio speaker was out of work due to a problem at the radio amplifier. Some of the under-aged go to the club where they watch movies, followed by discussions with the trainers (the latest movie was “Titanic”). The under-aged, including those in pretrial detention, are compelled to wear the penitentiary uniform during the visits and travels to the courts. The daily walk takes one hour, except for Saturdays and Sundays. The room features a sink, a Turkish-style WC and a shower closet. Hot tap water is available every evening. The under-aged had pasta soup and cabbage with pork for lunch. The association’s representatives asked and found out that the under-aged are entitled to receive visits and packets, according to the new regulation issued by the Ministry of Justice / General Prison Department in July this year. One of the under-aged (Vasile Zor, aged 15) was being afraid that he would receive an incident report because during the classes on that morning he had played twice with a cigarette lighter.
Room 26 (for youths) hosted 34 detainees in 18 beds. The detainees complained about lack of activity. They spend all the time in the room without any occupation, except the daily walk (which lasts about one hour, but only Mondays to Thursday) and two football games a week. There was a TV set and a radio speaker in the room, but the speaker was out of order due to a network problem. The TV watching time was between 5 and 12 p.m., and until 1 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The detainees were pleased that they could watch TV till late hours, but wished to have the TV schedule starting earlier, at 12 p.m. The sanitary endowment included a sink (in the room), a shower closet (with hot tap water every evening) and a Turkish-style WC, which was out of order. Every week on Fridays the detainees take a bath at the penitentiary bathroom. They monthly receive a piece of laundry soap, a skin soap bar and a washing powder bag for the entire room. Detainee Constantin Gheorghe told the association’s representatives that in October 2000 he was enchained for 5 days in the “dangerous” section only because he had asked to be transferred to another room. Another two colleagues of him were similarly punished for the same reason. Eight youths were enrolled for the school classes.
Room 14 hosted 24 detainees in 15 beds. The detainees said they were pleased with the quality of food but complained about the lice in the room and told that the disinfection was only superficial. In the discussions with some detainees, the APADOR-CH representatives got the feeling that officer Stoica and the room representative, Gheorghe Avram, have an abusive behavior to the detainees. As well, the penitentiary officials do not know the detainees’ problems because the supervisors do not report them on. The detainees enjoy the new rights specified in the orders of the MJ / GPD issued in July 2002. There was no TV set in the room and the radio speaker was out of order due to the network problem. Nine of the detainees in this room participate in the school classes (forms 1-8). The sanitary endowment included a sink (in the room), a Turkish-style WC and a shower cabin with hot tap water every evening. The daily walk, from Monday to Thursday, takes about one hour. In this room, the Association’s representatives met detainee Marius Toader, whom they initially met when they arrived at the penitentiary, at the medical room, where the doctor was sewing a cut that he himself made on the right forearm. In the discussion with the detainee, it resulted that he self-mutilated because the room representative had forbidden him to exchange his butter for some cigarettes from another detainee. He is a smoker but never has cigarettes because nobody visits him. Detainee Ferencz Mailat, sentenced 24 years for murder, 11 years already served (the representatives of the association did not find out why he was in a youths room as he passed 21 years old for a long time) said that he had a heart condition and ulcer and asked to be treated more carefully by the medical staff and receive food that he could eat. He also asked not to be transferred from the Codlea Penitentiary because it was easier for his children to visit him there. He said his wife had died and his children, 7 of which 3 were under-aged, lived in village Luteasa, commune Lemnea, Covasna County.
Rooms 26 and 14 are for youths (18-21 years old). The detainees are not taken out for work and practically do not have any activity, for schooling pretexts. Yet, of the 58 detainees, only 17 attend the classes and the remainder of 41 stay in their rooms 23 hours a day. In the Association’s opinion, it is absolutely necessary to set up certain activities for the young detainees who do not attend the classes.
One of the three public phones installed in the section hallway was locked in a metallic box and no detainee used it for two hours. The officials reasoned that the phone was not used because of some regulations and procedures that had to be made up every month to allow the detainees to use public phones. That makes impossible for the detainees to make phone calls in the first two days of each month or to receive visits. The association’s representatives insisted that, while there were only three public phones, the bureaucratic procedures that limit the detainees’ possibility to phone should be reduced to minimum. The issue of the internal organization of the militaries in the Codlea Penitentiary (one supervisor is in charge of the visits, access to telephone and records of applications and approvals) must not affect the exercise of the detainees’ rights.
Detainee Claudiu Para was in Room 15, the solitary confinement, for 5 days. Asking questions about the disciplinary procedures for that case, the association’s representatives found that the detainee had been brought before the discipline commission only for being informed about the punishment established by the commission – 10-day confinement. The detainee was asked nothing about the fault charged on him and “did not manage to say anything” to defend himself. Eventually he challenged the sentence with the penitentiary director who halved it. APADOR-CH has insisted that the compulsory presence of the detainees before the discipline commission should not be formal, but an instance in which the commission should make all the diligences for finding out the truth and take a decision as fair as possible and the detainee could effectively defend himself with respect to the acts charged on him. The detainee is taken out for the daily walk that takes 30 to 60 minutes, without handcuffs, when he can smoke (while in the solitary confinement, he can only smoke during this interval). There were 4 concrete beds in the room, it was very cold and the detainee’s bed sheets, blanckets and pillow were taken out between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m., according to rules. The detainees in the solitary confinement are not allowed to have a TV, a radio set or a speaker in the room. They are only allowed to receive newspapers. The sanitary endowment includes a sink and a Turkish-style WC, separated from the rest of the room by a wall, 1.20 m high, on only one side and that makes the unpleasant smell invade the whole room.
In Room 58 – restrictive regime – hosted 2 detainees on 2 beds. The room had a concrete sink and a Turkish-style WC, built like the one in the solitary confinement, but separated from the rest of the room by a curtain that obviously could not prevent the smell get into the room. Detainee Eduard Bloj was there for a 12-month sentence, of which he had served 9 months. According to his story, he had been brought there because he “collected” some 10 incident reports. The APADOR-CH representatives left with the feeling that the deeds for which Bloj was punished so severely, were, at least some of them, quite minor: he tried for several times, indeed by breaking the rules, to meet his girlfriend and some other time he made some noises that suggested the nickname of one of the supervisors (!). The second detainee, Silviu Rogojinaru, was sentenced to 8 months, 2 already served, for an escape. At the detainee’s request, the association’s representatives notified the “National” newspaper on 3 October about his willingness to donate a kidney for a young woman about whom the newspaper had written some 6 days ago. The detainees had books and newspapers. They are only allowed to receive packets and visits on the penitentiary director’s permit.
In the women section, the association’s representatives visited Room 61 that hosted 14 persons in 10 beds. In general, the detainees were pleased with the penitentiary conditions: food, they thought, was better than in other penitentiaries (except the cabbage supplied on the visit day), the officials had the right behavior, they were allowed to make two phone calls a month and receive packets and visits according to the new regulations and take a hot shower every day. They go out for the daily walk, up to 2 hours, Monday to Friday, and pay a visit to the medical room on Fridays (except for the emergencies, which are, when appeared, immediately treated). The detainees asked that the TV watching time start earlier than 5 p.m., they be able to go for the visits dressed up in the civil cloths and be allowed also to sew, sample and knit in the rooms. For security reasons ungrounded in the Association’s opinion, the women detained at Codlea are not allowed to keep knitting needles and crochets in the rooms. The sanitary endowment included a sink, a shower cabin and a WC.
The section for visits has proper rooms and arrangements. There can be 7 simultaneous visits to the “dangerous”, 10 to the “normal” and 4 to the dining room. A visit takes at least 30 minutes and 2 hours at the most. The room for receiving packets is so arranged that the detainees can see the contents of the packets as the officers take them from the bringers.
Andrei Cristea, double citizenship - Romanian and French - was brought to this penitentiary from the Sfantu Gheorghe Police on 6 September 2002, being charged of having smoked marijuana cigarettes. After a while, his roommates stole him several underwear and cosmetic items. He reported to the penitentiary director who consented to move him to Room 7 that hosts several foreign citizens. Cristea is pleased with the conditions in the new room and he likes his colleagues. At his arrival at the penitentiary and also on the visit date, he suffered from pityriazis (a skin disease he has had for a long time), a condition that he treated properly with medicines brought by his family. On the visit date, he was running out of medicines and intended to ask the medical staff for the necessary treatment.
3. Conclusions
APADOR-CH considers that, given the current environment, the penitentiary provides acceptable detention conditions, but still far enough from the European standards.
The Association appreciates the decision made by the Ministry of Justice and by the General Police Department to add to the detainees’ right to receive visits, packets and cigarettes, and also to organize a semi-opened detention regime and to quantify and pay for the detainees’ work. An important observation is related to the compensation of those detainees who give the SIPA staff information about their colleagues. This is an open invitation to delation, which is not only against the ethics of normal inter-human relations, but also a serious risk to develop susceptibility, fear and hatred between the detainees. Eventually it may lead to acts of revenge with the worst consequences.
The scab epidemic in the summer / fall of this year represents a sad event both for the penitentiary and for the GPD. APADOR-CH considers that its occurrence is also a consequence of the doctors’ overloading, which is detrimental to the medical services provided to the detainees. Had the 32 detainees who got ill have the possibility had by the military, to live in good sanitary conditions and go anytime to any doctor, it is less probable that they would have caught the disease. The Association asks the GPD once again to have the penitentiary doctors exclusively serve the detainees. APADOR-CH asks the penitentiary administration to fully assist the medical staff in the complete eradication of the epidemic consequences and also to oblige the detainees to fully comply with the sanitary rules determined by the doctors.
The Association asks the GPD administration to:
APADOR-CH asks the penitentiary administration to:
Manuela ªtefãnescu
Valerian Stan