More information
Description
In 2015 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered a landmark judgment on Neshkov and others v. Bulgaria, establishing violation of the prohibition of inhuman and humiliating treatment in Bulgarian prisons. The ECtHR noted that the overall prison system in Bulgaria was plagued with structural issues and gave the Bulgarian state a period of 18 months to take measures to solve the issues. Despite the reform launched in 2017, a number of key issues persist. The project aims at improving the application of international standards on human rights in the prison system in Bulgaria. The project will carry out a multifaceted assessment of the real impact of the practical and legislative measures adopted by the government since 2017, identify the gaps in the reform of the prison system and outline intervention areas in order to implement the general measures of the Court. The project will offer durable strategic solutions to fully implement the judgments of the ECtHR regarding the Bulgarian prison system. The monitoring carried out will record and disclose violations of human rights in prisons. Advocacy before Bulgarian authorities and international bodies will help boost the reform of prisons. Strategic litigation on behalf of the victims of violations will challenge structural problems. The project will empower the target groups through pilot training sessions of inmates in prisons and will activate their potential for self-advocacy. Lawyers will be also trained in this area. The project is targeted at people serving custodial sentences and detained under custody. The project will also work with the stakeholders, i.e. Bulgarian public authorities involved in the prison reform, international bodies monitoring compliance with standards in this area and detainees themselves as participants in the training sessions.
Summary of project results
The main objective of the project is to enhance the implementation of international human rights standards in detention centres and prisons in Bulgaria. The project undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the actual impact of the practical and legislative measures taken by the Bulgarian government following the pilot case of the ECtHR "Neshkov and others" in 2017. The project identified the deficiencies of the reform in the penitentiary system and highlighted the areas that require further improvement to implement the general measures of the Court. The project aims to benefit individuals who are serving a sentence of imprisonment or remand, along with other stakeholders - Bulgarian public authorities responsible for reforming closed institutions, international bodies that monitor compliance with standards in this area, and the prisoners themselves.
Continuous independent civil monitoring was made possible in the places of deprivation of liberty in the penitentiary system, thanks to the project activities. This is an essential step towards the humanization of the penal-executive system, the prevention of torture, and the effective control of implementing international recommendations that improve the observance of prisoners'' rights. The project has also achieved the successful communication of observations and recommendations regarding prison reform to the human rights bodies of the Council of Europe and the United Nations.
A practical handbook on legal self-advocacy for prisoners was created and published with the help of professionals and prisoners themselves. Their combined expertise ensured that the manual was tailored to the real needs of its users. Trainings on legal self-advocacy for prisoners, which were organized within different prisons, are unique events not just for Bulgaria but for all of Europe. These trainings provided prisoners with the opportunity to learn about new legal methods for protecting themselves against inhuman and degrading treatment. They learned directly from some of the most experienced human rights defenders and lawyers who specialize in penitentiary law.
The website of the project www.prisonreform.bg has become the only platform of its kind in our country, bringing together information about human rights in places of deprivation of liberty. The platform includes legal framework, judicial practice, analysis, news, and other relevant content.