Country

Poland

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Executive Penal Code (Kodeks karny wykonawczy)The Executive Penal Code stipulates that a person placed in prison or remand centre should receive three meals and beverages per day, and that at least one of the meals should be warm. In case the detainee is outside the unit and the warm meal cannot be provided, he or she should obtain a packed lunch instead.
Executive Penal Code (Kodeks karny wykonawczy)Meals and beverages served to detainees in prisons and remand centres should be of appropriate nutritional value, considering the type of work conducted by each person and his or her age, as well as (if possible) their religious and cultural requirements.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2022According to the NPM, the nutritional standards in penitentiary units are insufficient. Repeatedly in conversations with prisoners, there are indications that the portions served by the Prison Service are too small. Those inmates whose financial situation allows them to do so or who have external assistance are able to make up for these shortfalls by shopping in the canteen. The Regulation of the Minister of Justice of 19 February 2016 on the feeding of inmates in penal institutions and detention centres, defining in § 5 the minimum daily cost of meals and beverages served to inmates, has not changed despite inflation and the related increase in the prices of food products against the background of 8 years since its enactment. This circumstance significantly reduces the quality of food served to inmates. Whereas vegetables are served in the form of salad for lunch, fruits are absent in the food portions (except for the diabetic diet). There are also frequent reports of mouldy bread, stale sausages and rotten potatoes; recommendations concerning the serving of stale meals appeared, inter alia, in the reports on the inspection of Penitentiary Facility No. 1 in Grudziądz77 and Penitentiary Facility in Iława. There is also a problem with the availability of certain types of products in the canteen (e.g. gluten-free, vegan). This issue was raised by the NPM in its general address of 9 February 2022. The NPM also perceives a problem with the issuing of meals prepared with religious and cultural requirements to inmates [§ 2(1)(4) of the Regulation of the Minister of Justice of 19 February 2016 on meals for inmates in penal institutions and detention centres]. This manifests itself, inter alia, in the dispensing of products containing pork to persons of the Muslim faith and the failure to take Ramadan into account when dispensing hot meals (inmates observing Ramadan have to wait until sunset and consume a cold meal, which is usually dispensed around 1 p.m.). Report details
2023During a preventive visit to one of the prisons, the NPM identified a problem that may have a significant impact on the conditions of imprisonment, as well as a potential violation of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment set out in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the visited unit, the canteen offer was poor and some food products suitable for persons with special dietary needs, including those with certain food intolerances (e.g. lactose, gluten), were unavailable. Due to the introduction of the so-called e-food packages, inmates and their relatives can only place orders for products available in the offer of the entity running the prison canteen. It is therefore not possible to receive food products from outside the prison that would respect the special dietary needs of some inmates. Taking into account both the offer of the canteen and the applicable provisions of the Executive Penal Code, persons on specific diets and those suffering from food intolerances are "dependent" only on the meals received in the penitentiary unit. For obvious reasons, such as, for example, the performance of physical work, the presence of illnesses, age, dietary habits or different energy needs, prison meals may not be sufficient in individual cases. The possibility for prisoners to receive food parcels purchased only through the prison (canteen) was introduced by an amendment to the Executive Penal Code, which entered into force on 1 July 2015. The adopted solution raised the Ombudsman's doubts, inter alia, concerning the possibility of handing over parcels only by the closest persons. In the Ombudsman's opinion, narrowing this group only to the closest persons bears the hallmarks of discrimination, especially in relation to inmates who do not have relatives or do not maintain contact with them. Moreover, the Office of the Ombudsman has received complaints from prisoners concerning the realisation in practice of their right to receive e-packages, in particular pointing to the timeliness of their delivery and the possibility to order, for example, fresh fruit and vegetables. In the Ombudsman's view, every person deprived of liberty should be guaranteed equal access to the possibility of making purchases through the prison, as well as receiving food parcels purchased by their loved ones. At present, due to the limited range of foodstuffs offered by e-packet traders, this entitlement is not feasible in the case of detainees with food intolerances or those on other diets. The right to a humane way of serving a prison sentence is thus violated. In view of the above, the Ombudsman requested the Director General of the Prison Service to take a position on the problem presented and to report on the actions taken in this case. Report details