Podgorica, (MINA) – Montenegro, with a prison population rate higher than the European average, must implement institutional and operational reforms to address the challenges facing its prison system, above all the problem of overcrowding, which remains a concern, according to experts interviewed by the MINA News Agency.

Ivan Radulovic from the Civic Alliance told the MINA that progress has been made in Montenegro when it comes to respecting the human rights of incarcerated persons, but that in practice new challenges are constantly being encountered regarding the respect of their rights.

Marijana Sindjic, chief adviser to the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, said that this institution will not be satisfied until all cases of human rights violation of persons deprived of their liberty are fully eradicated.

“Respecting the human rights of persons deprived of their liberty is a reflection of the overall respect of human rights in society”, Sindjic said to the MINA News Agency.

When asked about the key problems and challenges that jeopardize the rights of incarcerated persons, Radulovic said that Montenegro exceeds the European average in terms of prison population rate, with the rate of 168 prisoners per 100,000 people, while the European average is 124.

The Ombudsman’s office pointed to the issue of overcrowding in the latest report on the work of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, stating that a visit to the Investigation Prison confirmed that the problem of overcrowding remains a key challenge, negatively affecting living conditions, health care and the overall well-being of detained persons.

Responding to a question about the effective protection against torture and violence in Montenegro, Radulovic stated that, in the past year or two, the number of people who report torture to the Civic Alliance has decreased.

“Looking at past cases and ineffective investigations, the question arises whether people victims of torture are now discouraged from reporting abuses, or whether the number of such cases has genuinely decreased”, Radulovic said.

Sindjic believes that the state, when it comes to the institutional framework, can adequately respond to cases of torture, adding that the judicial authorities must carry out a serious reform, to introduce a larger number of judges and make judges and judicial authorities fully independent and free from external pressures.

Asked about the now-withdrawn proposal to extend pretrial detention from three to five years for suspects in the most serious cases, Sindjic said that it is good that the proposed amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure were withdrawn, because they were in contradiction with the Constitution, the European Convention and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.

“Detention is not a form of punishment, detention is a protective measure during the proceedings. Extending it in that way would effectively transform it into a punishment”, stated Sindjic.