What should the conditions be in the place of detention?
When detained on remand you are held in a pre-trial arrest or in a special ward in a prison. You have the right to be held in conditions that are not inhumane or degrading. To evaluate if you are being held according to human rights standards, you should pay attention to the following basic conditions:
- Are men and women being held separately?
- Is the size of the cell big enough for the number of people in it?
- Is your cell clean?
- Do you have a bed, mattress, blanket and bed linen?
- Do you have a toilet and sink in your cell, which is properly separated from the rest of the cell?
- Is it too cold or too hot in your cell?
- Do you have daylight during the day and a light after dark?
- Are you able to go outside for a walk at least once a day?
- Have you been fed three times a day and given unlimited access to drinking water?
- Have you been able to take shower regularly and received the necessary hygienic products?
In Bulgaria, the details and standards of these conditions are explained in the Law on the Execution of Punishments and Detention on Remand and in the Rules and Regulations of the Law on the Execution of Punishments and Detention on Remand. The law also provides for remedies, which you have at your disposal to protect yourself from inhuman and degrading conditions of detention.
What human rights violation may there be?
Being held in inappropriate conditions may be very humiliating and cause physical and psychological suffering. For example, if you are denied food or water, or you have to go to the toilet in front of other cellmates, or you do not have a bed and for many hours you are unable sit or lie down. Inappropriate conditions may result in inhumane or degrading treatment.
However, the suffering due to the conditions has to reach a minimum level of severity to result in a human rights violation. When assessing whether you have been held in conditions that are inhumane or degrading, such things as the duration of the situation, the physical and psychological effects, your age, gender and the condition of your health would be taken into account. Often, the conditions at the detention place will all be evaluated together and not on the basis of a single, isolated incident.
For mistreatment to be considered torture, the actions have to be particularly serious and cruel and cause very severe suffering. Read more about how to evaluate whether your rights have been violated.