The
Human Rights Defender, on her own initiative, conducted a review procedure
concerning the safeguarding of the rights of a person deprived of liberty held
in a penitentiary institution. As a result of this procedure, on 26 January
2026, the Human Rights Defender adopted a decision
finding violations of the
said person’s rights to
health, physical and mental integrity, and the right not to be subjected to
ill-treatment.
In
the context of the violation of the individual’s rights, the Defender recorded
a number of concerns related to the period during which a person with mental
health issues was de facto deprived of liberty in a penitentiary institution.
In
particular:
▪️ during the period of
detention in the penitentiary institution, adequate psychiatric care and
treatment were not actually provided,
▪️ for a prolonged period of
time, without the provision of necessary psychiatric assistance and while being
deprived of the ability to care for themselves, the person continued to be held
in the penitentiary institution, as a result of which the individual’s health
condition deteriorated,
▪️due to the person’s mental
health condition, appropriate resocialization of the person deprived of liberty
was not carried out, and the deprivation of liberty did not serve its intended
purpose.
A
number of individual actions (inaction) taken towards the person have become
the subject of discussion from the perspective of ensuring the right not to be
subjected to ill-treatment.
Taking
into account the above, the Human Rights Defender recorded that, in circumstances
where the person’s mental health condition deteriorated and, as a consequence,
the person deprived of liberty was unable to independently organize self-care,
the necessary measures envisaged by international standards and domestic
legislation were not undertaken to ensure the right to health and care of a
person with mental health issues.
The
results of the monitoring carried out by the Human Rights Defender’s Office
within the framework of its mandate as the National Preventive Mechanism
indicate that, in practice, similar cases continue to occur on a recurring
basis.
By
the mentioned decision, the Human Rights Defender recommended to the Minister
of Health to take steps to examine the causes of violations of human rights,
eliminate them, as well as prevent the occurrence of similar cases in the
future.
In
this regard, the effective cooperation between the responsible body for
penitentiary health care and the Penitentiary Service is of particular
importance.
At
the same time, the Human Rights Defender considers is necessary to emphasize
that the issue of ensuring proper care for persons deprived of liberty with
special needs has also been addressed by the Defender in a number of other
decisions on the existence of violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, emphasizing that the state, by virtue of its positive obligations, is
required to ensure continuous care for such persons by specially trained
professionals.
The
Defender will be consistent in taking steps to resolve the issues raised.
At
the same time, the Human Rights Defender attaches importance to cooperation
with competent bodies from the perspective of resolving the problems and their
commitment to resolving the problems.
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