Country

Romania

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Order no. 2772/C/2017 regarding the minimum standards on detention conditions for people deprived of liberty of the Ministry of Justice (Ordinul Ministerului Justiției nr. 2772/C/2017 - aprobarea Normelor minime obligatorii privind condiţiile de cazare a persoanelor private de libertate)In detention units under the National Administration of Penitentiaries, the Romanian minimum standard for cell space is at least 4 m2 per detainee in existing detention facilities, with priority for maximum security and closed detention regimes. In newly built or refurbished detention facilities the standard is at least 4 m2 in multi-occupancy cells and 6 m2 in single-occupancy cells, with a minimum of 2 m between walls and at least 2.5 m cell height.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2015Special report - One of the problems of the prison system is overcrowding. As a consequence detainees suffer from the reduced personal space, low hygiene standards, reduced monitoring efficiency by prison staff, reducing the time allocated to outdoor movement, the difficulty of medical care, insufficient educational activities, increasing the acts of violence and, in particular, the risks of suicide and self-harm. Report details
2021 In many of the visited prisons, we have found overcrowding of detention sections/rooms (occupancy levels varying between 130%-160%. Prisons conditions were not adequate (lack of furniture needed for personal belongings, poor hygiene, presence of bugs etc). Report details
2022Overcrowding – in Vaslui Prison there were detention sections in which the overcrowding was obvious: E6 – 196,43%, E3 – 187,93% and E1 173,68%, a situation which can be the source of serious problems as regards the treatment, health, security and rehabilitation. Accommodation conditions were not adequate (thermal discomfort, old and broken steel beds, insufficient storage spaces. Report details
2023Accommodation conditions were not adequate: overcrowding – 128% of legal capacity at Focșani Prison, where it was also found […] broken room equipment and mattresses, water leaks in bathrooms, rooms had no furniture, the detainees had to eat in bed; at Ploiești and Mărgineni Prisons overcrowding in some of the detention rooms/sections, used/old equipment and furniture, 3-tier bunk-beds, insufficient storage furniture for personal belongings of detainees, […] unpainted walls, used floors […]. Report details