As organizations that continuously and directly monitor the situation in prisons, and encouraged by the latest action of the Ministry of Interior in Idrizovo prison, we point out that what was portrayed in the media as a spectacular seizure of knives, drugs and mobile phones in prison is actually a normal situation, which has been going on for decades, said the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association on Saturday.
“In our reports and recommendations, we regularly refer to the substandard conditions, corruption and other systemic shortcomings in the prison system, especially in the largest penitentiary institution – Idrizovo. During our visits, in addition to numerous other shortcomings, about which we regularly inform the public and the competent institutions, knives were always noticed in the rooms of convicts in the closed ward of the institution, but also in other wards, which was the case during the last visit to Penitentiary Idrizovo, realized in June this year. Despite the fact that we appealed to the danger of (self) injury of the convicts, as an explanation it was always stated that they do not have a separate dining room, so they have knives in their rooms”, said the organizations.
