On the whole, penitentiary institutions of Nagorny Karabakh meet international standards

The Karabakh non-government organization Center of Civil Initiatives continues to monitor penitentiary institutions of Nagorny Karabakh. The other day it completed this year?s seventh monitoring of Correctional Labor Institution No1 in Shushi and the Investigatory Isolation Ward of the Nagorno-Karabakh Interior Ministry. The organization is inclined to appear with a report on its 8-month work and present its recommendations and proposals.

In this connection, we asked several questions to director of the Center of Civil Initiatives Albert Voskanian.

- Mr. Voskanian, this is the seventh time your organization holds the monitoring of penitentiaries in Karabakh. What are the results of this activity and what has it revealed?

- The results of the monitoring have led us to the conclusion that, on the whole, a moral, psychological and physical state of people in custody, protection of their rights, sanitary conditions of prison cells, the organization of medical service, nutrition and spare time are on a due level. Particularly, penitentiaries in Karabakh are free of specific smell that is typical of many prisons.

We interviewed women, the under-aged and elderly people who are kept in the investigatory isolation ward and found out that the conditions of their custody met the standards. Those convicts who belong to sexual minorities also assert they have no problems of sexual harassment.

As for comparative analysis, I should point out that we have access to penitentiary institutions of only two of four regimes ? the general and intensified ones. The monitoring results prove that administrations of the penitentiaries act in accordance with the presently adopted rules and orders.

- The Center of Civil Initiatives celebrates its first anniversary. What have you already done and what projects are you planning to shoot?

- Currently, the main direction of the CCI activities is to work in the line of PRI ? Penal Reform International. After gaining permission of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's authorities, the CCI conducts monitorings of republican penitentiary institutions. And this is the first time in Nagorny Karabakh when such monitorings are held by a public organization. On the basis of information received in the process of monitoring, the CCI presents reports to PRI, interested international organizations and corresponding structures in Nagorny Karabakh.

- What do you do precisely to help penitentiary institutions of the republic?

- A CCI psychologist works now with a group of prisoners who need to be psychologically rehabilitated. We have voluntarily gathered and granted 250 books to the Correctional Labor Institution and the Investigatory Isolation Ward recently. If we get support from sponsors, we are going to publish a list of guidelines for prisoners containing information of their basic rights.

I would also like to mention that a regional seminar within the framework of PRI was held in Stepanakert in April, 2003, under the aegis of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and Penal Reform International. Representatives of Caucasian countries and international organizations took part in the seminar. Besides, special literature was given to organizations and people interested in the program.

- International organizations and foundations prefer not to finance the activities of Karabakh non-government organizations in order to avoid political scandals. Who do you expect to support you?

- Unfortunately, we don?t have sponsors and grants yet. Everything we?ve done this year we?ve done voluntarily. We decided not to wait for financial support and got down to work at once so as to generate sponsors' interest with concrete results of our work.