Only four of 17 penitentiaries have psychiatrists

Only four psychiatrists work in the 17 penitentiaries of Moldova even if there are 20 such posts. The assessment of almost 3,000 detainees showed that 58 persons are predisposed to suicide, while about 300 to self-mutilation. Six prisoners killed themselves in 2011, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communiqué from the Prosecutor General’s Office. The communiqué says that owing to the lack of financial resources, decent conditions for keeping convicts and implementing the law cannot be created in prisons. The persons who are inclined to commit suicide are included in the ‘risk group’ and are supervised by the psychologist. But psychiatrists work only at Penitentiary No.6-Soroca, Penitentiary No.15-Cricova, Penitentiary No.17-Rezina, and Penitentiary No.16-Pruncul. The prisoners’ state of health depends on the living conditions and food in jails and on every convict’s heredity. Most of the detainees suffer from chronic diseases, tuberculosis and mental disorders, are infected with HIV/AIDS or are addicted to drugs. The number of cases of tuberculosis among prisoners remains high. The Prosecutor General’s Office informed the Ministry of Justice about the discovered violations and demanded that the Department of Penitentiary Institutions take steps to identity the persons predisposed to suicide and self-mutilation and take measures to prevent such cases. As many as 6 171 persons were held in penitentiaries in Moldova on December 1, 2011.