REPORT on the visit to the Slobozia penitentiary

On 18 May 2000, the APADOR-CH representatives visited the Slobozia penitentiary (county of Ialomita).

1.Background information

The Slobozia penitentiary, built in 1972 for convicts sentenced to punishments of up to 10 years, covers the counties of Ialomita and Calarasi and was designed to accommodate 800 detainees. At the time of this visit, there were 1414 detainees and 1234 beds (170 persons were detained on remand, 26 were minors). There were no women in the penitentiary: all women detainees are transferred to police lockups. 117 detainees were placed under semi-open regime and 71 unguarded.

The penitentiary is going to take over some plots of land and buildings, as follows: from the former Slobozia agricultural farm (currently CERES Ltd.) a vegetable garden of about 5 hectares, where a semi-open section is going to be established; 6000 square meters and several buildings from the SACO construction enterprise, where the workshop are going to be built; several buildings from ISCIP Calarasi, for the new detention wing where about 500 detainees from Calarasi are going to be confined.

The penitentiary has its own animal farm and vegetable garden, with 53 hectares of land. The animal farm breeds 600 pigs, 44 cattle, 550 hens and 350 sheep. The farm covers about 85% of the penitentiary’s food demands.

Last year, the penitentiary held on lease from some local councils in the county about 80 hectares arable land to grow tobacco (40 hectares), sunflower (20 hectares) and sorghum (18 hectares) and succeeded in selling the whole yield (about 11,000 days of work were recorded in this sector).

The cooperation with the National Society "Romanian Tobacco", as well as the whole activity carried out in this field represents, in the opinion of APADOR-CH, a positive experience that should be known and extended in all penitentiaries where this is possible.

The Humanitarian Service for Penitentiaries and the Christian Mission for Prisons organized educational activities in the penitentiary (religious education mainly). The penitentiary has a job opening for an orthodox priest; as for the representatives of other religious denominations, only the Baptists visit this penitentiary

The penitentiary management concluded an agreement with the Slobozia Townhall to employ the detainees to work in the green areas, sweeping, planting trees, cutting the hedges or mowing the lawns. The pay is lei 7,000/hour.

The detainees' artistic and cultural concerns resulted in an exhibition of painting, sculpture and folk art objects, on sale in Slobozia in 1997; the detainees' creations were very successful and sold in proportion of 95%. The penitentiary's accountant (who is actually a primary school teacher) has organized shows with the participation of minor detainees on holidays. The penitentiary staff and their families were invited to attend. The right to receive parcels was supplemented on such occasions. Recently, for Easter, a group of 50-60 detainees (unguarded/semi-open regime) visited the National Museum of Agriculture in Slobozia; the museum management was pleased with the detainees' interest and behavior.

The cultural educational department is staffed by four officers (one of them a psychologist) and a non-commissioned officer in charge of technical aspects. The penitentiary will soon employ a second psychologist.

Punishments for violations of internal regulations

Within 24 hours, the (non-commissioned) officer who discovers the violation draws up an incident report, without suggesting the punishment. The report is analyzed by a commission made of the chief of the safety and penitentiary treatment department, the chief of the social-educational department, the doctor and the officer in charge of the section. The detainee is heard regardless of the nature of the deed and gives a written statement regarding the incident. The potential witnesses also give written statements, after which the commission establishes the punishment. If the detainee is dissatisfied, he can challenge this decision before the penitentiary commander and subsequently with the prosecutor in charge of the carry out of punishments.

When the detainees are disrespectful to the staff, this attitude is sanctioned rather by a restriction of the right to receive visits than by a limitation of the right to parcels.

2. Visit to the penitentiary

2.1. The kitchen area

The kitchen area was in an unacceptable state. The kitchen had airing problems and was very damp; the washing room, containing who concrete sinks whose interior walls were worn out did not meet the basic norms of hygiene. The penitentiary management said that the renovation of the kitchen area was a priority in the investment plan for the current year.

The day's menu consisted of: potatoes and meat (regular menu) / peas with meat (diet menu) for breakfast; bean soup with meat by-products and spinach with meat (regular menu) / pork soup and pilaf with meat (diet menu) for lunch; tea and marmalade (regular menu) / tea with biscuits and margarine (diet menu) for dinner. 102.556 kg. meat and 80.920 kg. meat by-products had been used to prepare the food. The APADOR-CH representatives checked the meat in the lunch meal and had serious doubts that the recorded quantity of meat had indeed been used; actually, the spinach contained some bacon instead of meat.

APADOR-CH learned that the food preparation is supervised by a commission made of detainee representatives (three of them check in the morning the quantity of food taken out of the pantry for the food; other three taste lunch). The penitentiary management agreed with the suggestion made by APADOR-CH, namely that the detainees who check the preparation of food in the morning should also be the ones who taste the food later on.

2.2. Medical assistance

The penitentiary has a medical office for the detainees and another for the staff. Both have been renovated. The management wants to fit out a medical office for each of the three sections of the penitentiary. The employment plan provides for four general practitioners (including a dentist) and for five medical assistants. Only three positions of general practitioners are filled for the time being. The two general practitioners work in shifts, one in the morning, the other in the afternoon. Daily from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., the penitentiary doctors (who are also the family doctors of the 202 penitentiary staff) tend to the employees. The schedule for detainees is 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 6:30p.m. 70 to 100 detainees are examined daily. 20-30 detainees have psychic problems, 7 have active TB. 5 cases of syphilis were detected; these detainees have been proposed for admission to the Jilava Penitentiary Hospital. A HIV test was performed in the penitentiary in 1993-1994 (same as in other 7 or 8 penitentiaries). The results were used in a study made by the General Directorate for Penitentiaries. Unfortunately, the Slobozia penitentiary was not informed on the results of this test. Whenever such a test is required (for all detainees with syphilis, for instance), it is performed upon the detainee’s written agreement.

The penitentiary has a good working relationship with the County Polyclinic and with the Slobozia hospital. All detainees admitted to civilian hospitals are handcuffed. APADOR-CH reiterated that this measure is excessive and liable to cause more pain to the patients. The measure is excessive especially as the handcuffed detainee is also guarded by a non-commissioned officer. APADOR-CH believes that the hospitals that admit detainees should organize one or two special rooms for them, which only supposes a row of bars at the windows.

2.3 The rooms

Section 2

Room 13 (multi-offenders who do not work)

The room was overcrowded (39 detainees and 27 beds) and the air was stale. The detainees are taken out for walks daily for two hours. The whole penitentiary (this room included) is provided with cable television (24 channels). Unfortunately, the room does not have its own television set. A TV set belonging to the penitentiary can be used only twice a week, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. It should also be mentioned that the inmates’ only pastime is to watch television. The room is provided with a loudspeaker. The detainees can listen to the broadcasts of the local radio station, "Campus". The detainees read the press every day; some of them also collaborate to "Orizont", the penitentiary’s own magazine. With regard to access to the public phones, the detainees told the APADOR-CH representatives that they have to apply to the commander, specifying the phone number and the person they are going to call. During the phone conversations, a guard closely watches the detainees. The lavatory consisted of two seatless toilets (one of which was broken), two sinks and two showers, where the detainees shower once a week, for 10 minutes. The detainees complained about the roaches and lice.

The case of Marian Mitu – the detainee had both legs fractured when he committed the crime he was sentenced for and was hospitalized at the Pantelimon hospital in Bucharest. The detainee claimed that the surgery he had undergone had been unsuccessful (it was obvious that his ankles had not healed and were swollen; hid right leg had developed an incipient gangrene). Although after Pantelimon he was admitted to the Jilava penitentiary hospital (for 6 months), he has only got worse.

The case of Ivan Ion Gabriel – the detainee, sentenced to 7 years in prison for having stolen 9 hens, has a serious eye problem at the left eye, which supposes a specialized medical intervention. Several years ago, he got a splinter in the eye and, although the foreign body was removed by a doctor, the problem has not been solved.

Room 14 (multi-offenders who do not work)

This room was also overcrowded: there were 43 detainees and only 27 beds. The detainees are taken out for walks for two hours daily. The room had its own television set and the detainees were allowed to play backgammon and chess and to read books. They complained that they were allowed to watch TV only from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and had no other pastime. Once or twice a week, the detainees in this room are involved in educational activities. The detainees also took place in a football championship among the rooms, interrupted because the waterspouts of the buildings surrounding the football field started leaking. The lavatory consists of four sinks, three showers and two seatless toilets. They get hot water for two hours daily and the bed sheets are changed weekly. A positive aspect is that detainees are allowed to wear their own clothes even during the visits.

The APADOR-CH representatives discussed with one of the trainers, who said that the cultural and educational activities consist mainly of individual discussions (2-3 hours daily), literacy courses (for those who have not graduated the 4^th grade), the basics of civilized behavior, collective discussions (1-2 hours at the club). The trainer specified that the detainees are not allowed to bring their own radio sets and tape players, because they might disturb the ones who want to listen to the broadcasts of the local radio station. The APADOR-CH representatives noted, however, that this situation does not occur in any of the penitentiaries where the room are provided with both loudspeakers and radio sets and tape players owned by the detainees (they succeed in agreeing each time on their favorite broadcasts and do not disturb one another). The penitentiary has an orchestra, a satirical group, and a religious choir. The penitentiary also organizes chess competitions.

Room 16 (multi-offenders who do not work)

This room was also overcrowded, with 41 detainees and 30 beds. The detainees complained mainly about the food quality, because it often contains pieces of string, stones or sand. The detainee as complained that the previous year they used to be taken out for four hours daily (they had to ask to return to their rooms themselves because of the cold weather). Now, when the weather is hot and the air in the cells is almost impossible to breathe, they go out for walks only for two hours daily. The lavatory consisted of two seatless toilets (with broken doors), two showers and two sinks. The detainees said that they had no running water in the cell for half and hour up to one hour every day. The detainees also complained that they were not allowed to watch TV more. As the penitentiary food is insufficient and quite bad, they asked that the regulations related to the parcels be reviewed (multi-offenders are entitled to only one parcel of 5 kg. every two months). They also complained about the delays in having their mail sent or brought to them. They said that although the letters are taken from the post office twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, they are distributed only 2-3 days later. Sandu Bogdan asked to be allowed to discuss with his mother, whom he had not seen for six months. She is detained at the Ialomita County Police Inspectorate lockup. Ion Hatman had asked for news from his mother, whom he had not seen in two years and about whom he had heard that she had died, and about his brother, who was also detained.

In one of the yards, the APADOR-CH representatives interviewed Catalin Grigoras. At the Poarta Alba penitentiary, he had been part of a band that wrote satirical songs about penitentiary life. Because of that, their band was dissolved and they were transferred each to a different penitentiary: Slobozia, Tulcea and Jilava, respectively. APADOR-CH urges the DGP management to analyze this case and, if the account was correct, to transfer them back to Poarta Alba and to allow their band to resume its activity.

Section III

Room 3 (detainees who work)

There were 68 persons and 82 beds in this room. One of the 6 detainees in that room that did not work temporarily for medical reasons was part of Brigade 11, a group that dug ditches for gas pipes in Slobozia 8 hours a day. The lavatory consisted of 6 sinks, 3 toilets and 2 showers. The detention conditions were better than in the multi-offenders’ rooms previously visited.

Semi-open section (2 rooms)

Room 41

The room is provided with 83 beds and accommodates 61 detainees. The doors of both rooms and the door to the walking yard are open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. The detainees receive newspapers every day; weekly football competitions are organized in the meadow next to the penitentiary.

The sick room

The penitentiary’s sick room consists of three renovated tiled rooms. The lavatory has a toilet and a sink. A separate walking yard in provided for the sick room patients.

The case of Vasile Sandu – the detainee applied a while ago for a suspension of his punishment for family reasons. Meanwhile, his state of health has deteriorated (he has lung TB) and the penitentiary doctors said he could not be transferred to the Jilava penitentiary hospital because he is going to be heard by the Slobozia Court in relation to his application. The detainee prefers to drop his application and to be admitted to hospital as soon as possible.

Room 5 (isolation)

The recently renovated isolation has four beds and tiled walls. The lavatory consists of a toilet placed in the room, a sink and a shower. No detainee was punished with isolation at the time of this visit.

Room 6 (restrictive regime)

The room, also renovated, has 4 beds. The walls are tiled. The lavatory consists of a seatless toilet and a shower. Only one detainee, Dejescu, was placed in restrictive regime at the time of this visit. He was in the yard. The APADOR-CH representatives remarked that he was subjected to an excessive treatment. He was regarded as the "most dangerous detainee in the penitentiary"; consequently, he was taken out for walks in handcuffs, under the permanent supervision of a non-commissioned officer, in a yard provided with a ceiling made of bars.

The minors’ room

The detention conditions were very good, apart from overcrowding. The room accommodated 27 detainees in 24 beds and the air was stale. The room was renovated and its walls and floor tiled. The lavatory was very modern and consisted of a toilet, two showers and two sinks. The minors take three showers a week and their bed sheets are changed weekly. They are taken out for walks daily for one hour and a half, on which occasion they can play football. The yard for Section 1 (that the minors’ room belongs to) is almost ready. It is going to include a basketball field, tennis tables and weights. The room had a television set. The minors can watch TV from 5 p.m. to 11 or 12 p.m. on weekdays and from 2 p.m. to 12 p.m. on weekends.

The visiting area

The visiting area consists of a room that allows for 6 simultaneous discussions for detainees and their relatives and a separate booth for dangerous detainees. The visit "round the table" is ensured for four families simultaneously. The only pay phone for the detainees is also located in this area.

3. Conclusions:

- APADOR-CH appreciates the penitentiary management’s concern for the improvement of detention spaces: new premises, buildings and plots of land, more modern detention spaces, the concern to ensure work places for as many detainees as possible (over 41% of the detainees were working at the time of this visit). The association suggests to the DGP and to the Ministry of Justice to support the penitentiary’s attempts to obtain the plots of land and buildings mentioned in the first chapter of this report.

- The concern of the penitentiary’s officers to expand and modernize walking yards (including equipment to allow the detainees to practice sports – football, basketball, tennis, etc.) is also a positive development. The management told the APADOR-CH representatives that in some sections the detainees will soon be able to spend the whole day outdoors. The obviously less tense relation between detainees and staff is partly due to the fact that the penitentiary management does its best to make spare time as bearable as possible.

- From the same perspective, the detainees’ request to be allowed to watch television longer should be granted. At the end of the visit, the penitentiary commander admitted that the detainees’ request was justified and told the APADOR-CH representatives that this request will be granted as soon as possible.

- APADOR-CH asks the DGP management to analyze whether the restrictions regarding the detainees' right to receive parcels and the restriction of the right to receive parcels for violations of internal regulations can be given up completely, given the low quality of the food currently supplied in the Romanian penitentiary system.

Manuela Stefanescu
Valerian Stan
George Anglitoiu