The main shortcomings of the prison system remain – poor management system and employee performance, lack of staff, poor quality of health care for convicts, violence between convicts, poor material conditions, lack of dedicated activities and endemic corruption, notes the European Commission in its latest report on the progress of North Macedonia.
The EC stresses that it has the Strategy for the Development of the Penitentiary System 2021-2025, but emphasizes that its full implementation requires funds, additional staff and political commitment. The EC notes that an interdepartmental group was formed to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Strategy.
An additional concern noted by the EC is the overcrowding of prisons. According to data from March 2022, we are talking about 2,462 convicted and detained persons. The priority should be the renovation of the most neglected building in Idrizovo, according to the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and the professionalism of prison management requires the appointment of directors, including those who are acting. to be exclusively based on the 2019 Law on Execution of Sanctions.
