Crowdedness in jails remains a problem that requires immediate solutions, warn experts of “Promo-Lex” Association. According to them, the prison occupancy rate in Moldova remains high, being by 25% higher than the European average, IPN reports.
A study carried out by “Promo-Lex” shows the penitentiaries in Moldova remain crowded and the COVID-19 pandemic turned them into hotbeds of infection. Even if measures were taken to prevent and control the infection in penitentiaries, jails remain the places where the epidemiological health standards can be met with difficulty.
The study revealed that the authorities didn’t work out and didn’t adopt policies to reduce the population in penitentiaries. It goes to measures to release from detention particular persons from among vulnerable groups of detainees, such as prisoners with serious disease or aged over 60.
The authors of the document recommend the authorities to more efficiently apply instruments to humanize the penal policy by extending the application of non-custodial sentences, more efficiently using mediation in criminal cases and other measures.
The study was carried out in the framework of the project “Enhancing Observance of Human Rights in Penitentiary Institutions in the Republic of Moldova” that is implemented with financial support from the Justice and Human Rights Department of Soros Foundation Moldova.
