Prison conditions in Romania are breaching the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday. The Court gave Romania six months to improve prison conditions, such as overcrowding.
The ECHR also ruled that Romania violated Article 3 of the Human Rights Convention, which prohibits inhuman and degrading treatment. The ECHR also fined Romania EUR 17,850 in the “Rezvimes and others vs. Romania” case.
Four Romanian citizens, Daniel Arpad, Rezmives, Marius Mavroian, Laviniu Mosmonea and Iosif Gazsi brought a case against Romania at the ECHR regarding prison conditions. They complained, among others, of overcrowding, poor quality food and more, the ECHR said in a statement.
Rezmives, Mosmonea and Gazsi are currently in detention in Timisoara, Pelendava and Baia mare prisons, while Mavroian was detained at Focsani prison, which he left on 13 January 2015.
The Romanian state must pay EUR 3,000 in damage to Rezmives and Gazsi amd EUR 5,000 to Mavroian and Mosmonea. Moreover, Mosmonea must receive EUR 1,850, representing taxes and expenses.
On Tuesday PM Sorin Grindeanu also said that he had many talks with Justice Minister Tudor Tudorel. “I had many talks with minister Tudorel Toader in this period, trying to understand what he wants to do in this field (…) he said.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) acknowledged the ECHR decision as well as the existence of a structural problem regarding overcrowding detention centers and preventive arrest centers as well as the progress recorded by Romanian authorities to ease overcrowding.