“The main problem of Bulgarian prisons is that they are overcrowded. This inevitably leads to atrocities such as the one in the footage. The issue, however, is a contradictory one. When it comes to law and regulations there is no problem. Bulgaria has good laws in that field. The reality is something different. It is not news that the number of criminals has increased in the past 15 years. This logically  means that  more people are sent to prison. That is where the problem with overcrowded prisons comes in. Bulgaria simply does not have enough prison facilities to meet the ever-growing number of criminals.

A prison has not been built in the country since the 1920s and this alone is proof that the situation is bad. There are some cases where 12 people are sharing one prison cell meant for four people, which is unacceptable.

Bulgarian prisons do not meet the conditions defined by the United Nations. Bulgaria cannot even cover the minimum standards for such places. There is no doubt that authorities are trying to change the situation, but more consistent efforts are need to reach satisfying results.

According to Bulgarian criminal law, the punishment, in form of a sentence, is meant to socialise and reform the criminal. Whether this is possible under the present conditions is highly questionable.

Once in prison, a prisoner is involved in various programmes, such as work and individual activities. When the prisons are overcrowded, none of this can be achieved.

As one who has worked in that field for the past 15 years, I can say that it is not right that people who are sent to prison have access to mobile phones: this is a mistake of the system.

My personal opinion is that this incident of the footage showing sexual harassment is not isolated; atrocities exist in Bulgarian prisons. I have every reason to believe it. I worked in the system of criminal law during the days of communism and I can say that back then there were cases such as this. However, because of the system at that time, such cases were not given public attention. Today is a different story. My opinion is that this case received public attention only because of the technology that made it possible to be posted on the internet.

The questions we all can ask are: Where were the prison guards when the footage was shot? Why were prisoners allowed to communicate among themselves so freely? And, of course, how did the mobile phone arrive in the prisoners’ hands? It is obvious that there has been a lack of discipline and control.”