Twenty-four prisoners currently serving sentences from 18 months to 20 years climbed onto the roof of the administrative building of the Sofia Central Prison on Saturday to protest against poor conditions in the institution.
After a talk with Justice Minister Anton Stankov, they ended their peaceful protest on the rooftop, and returned to their cells.
Stankov arrived to hear the prisoners' demands - one of the conditions they made for returning to their cells. Two inmates, Mario Peev and Ivailo Kotsalov, spoke on behalf of the group, and called for observance of the Criminal Procedures' Code. They insisted on getting fair punishment, and the appointment of a team of lawyers as their consultants whose functions should involve assisting in social readaptation after their discharge from prison. "Prisoners are deprived of freedom but not of rights," said Peev, who is to be discharged this Tuesday.
"This prison must be turned into a museum, and the prisoners should serve their sentences in better conditions," Stankov told a press conference held inside the facility, attended by all the protesters and Deputy Justice Minister Mario Dimitrov, who is in charge of confinement facilities.
Stankov said the protest was motivated by conditions common to all people serving prison sentences. "I disapprove of the way this meeting was demanded," he said, adding that he has nevertheless disallowed possible sanctions for this transgression.
No punishments were considered by the wardens concerned.
Peev said the prison's roof was made of clay and wood and it was easy to make an opening with the parts of a dismantled couch.
"The basic demands of the prisoners are better aimed at the judicial power," said Kiril Madjarov, prison governor.
"This is not a riot but a protest," read a sign hanging from the rooftop and directed towards the media. Another sign said: "We want the media."
The prisoners' claims to the administrative staff regarding the conditions in the facility are justified, Madjarov told the press. He denied reports by inmates' relatives about cases of meningitis in the infirmary.
Boris Anachkov was the protestor on the rooftop with the longest sentence - 20 years for murder. "We have to eat under sewage pipes with feces, and we do not even have any toilets," he said.
The 90 inmates from the seventh squad of Sofia prison, from where the 24 protesters were from, have at their disposal only three toilets, which often get clogged, said Kotsalov. The protesters demanded toilets in every cell, according to European standards.
Before the minister's arrival, the protesters talked to Madjarov, and Interior Ministry chief secretary General Slavcho Bossilkov.
"A new European law for dealing with convicts is needed and it will be equalized to European standards," said the Justice Minister. He also promised to continue the meetings with the prisoners.
On Tuesday, to demonstrate solidarity with the protesters, 31 men from the prison in Varna, who were waiting for their sentences to be pronounced, signed individual declarations to prison director Rosen Zheliazkov giving up food. This was not a riot or a strike, they claimed. They demanded changes in the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedures' Code, because they have been held in prison without sentencing. They insisted on faster cases and other demands connected with the living conditions in the prison.
The Varna prison currently holds 500 prisoners - nearly 70 of them are awaiting trial.
A representative from the Justice Ministry was expected to arrive and talk to the prisoners on Wednesday.
After a talk with Justice Minister Anton Stankov, they ended their peaceful protest on the rooftop, and returned to their cells.
Stankov arrived to hear the prisoners' demands - one of the conditions they made for returning to their cells. Two inmates, Mario Peev and Ivailo Kotsalov, spoke on behalf of the group, and called for observance of the Criminal Procedures' Code. They insisted on getting fair punishment, and the appointment of a team of lawyers as their consultants whose functions should involve assisting in social readaptation after their discharge from prison. "Prisoners are deprived of freedom but not of rights," said Peev, who is to be discharged this Tuesday.
"This prison must be turned into a museum, and the prisoners should serve their sentences in better conditions," Stankov told a press conference held inside the facility, attended by all the protesters and Deputy Justice Minister Mario Dimitrov, who is in charge of confinement facilities.
Stankov said the protest was motivated by conditions common to all people serving prison sentences. "I disapprove of the way this meeting was demanded," he said, adding that he has nevertheless disallowed possible sanctions for this transgression.
No punishments were considered by the wardens concerned.
Peev said the prison's roof was made of clay and wood and it was easy to make an opening with the parts of a dismantled couch.
"The basic demands of the prisoners are better aimed at the judicial power," said Kiril Madjarov, prison governor.
"This is not a riot but a protest," read a sign hanging from the rooftop and directed towards the media. Another sign said: "We want the media."
The prisoners' claims to the administrative staff regarding the conditions in the facility are justified, Madjarov told the press. He denied reports by inmates' relatives about cases of meningitis in the infirmary.
Boris Anachkov was the protestor on the rooftop with the longest sentence - 20 years for murder. "We have to eat under sewage pipes with feces, and we do not even have any toilets," he said.
The 90 inmates from the seventh squad of Sofia prison, from where the 24 protesters were from, have at their disposal only three toilets, which often get clogged, said Kotsalov. The protesters demanded toilets in every cell, according to European standards.
Before the minister's arrival, the protesters talked to Madjarov, and Interior Ministry chief secretary General Slavcho Bossilkov.
"A new European law for dealing with convicts is needed and it will be equalized to European standards," said the Justice Minister. He also promised to continue the meetings with the prisoners.
On Tuesday, to demonstrate solidarity with the protesters, 31 men from the prison in Varna, who were waiting for their sentences to be pronounced, signed individual declarations to prison director Rosen Zheliazkov giving up food. This was not a riot or a strike, they claimed. They demanded changes in the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedures' Code, because they have been held in prison without sentencing. They insisted on faster cases and other demands connected with the living conditions in the prison.
The Varna prison currently holds 500 prisoners - nearly 70 of them are awaiting trial.
A representative from the Justice Ministry was expected to arrive and talk to the prisoners on Wednesday.
