site.btaUPDATED A New Prison, the First in Sixty Years, to Open in September

Bulgaria is building a new prison near Sofia and caretaker Justice Minister Maria Pavlova called it Monday “something big for the entire penitentiary system”. It is the first new prison Bulgaria has built in a period of 60 years and will open in September. 

Situated in Samoranovo in the southwestern Dupnitsa municipality, the prison has capacity for 400 inmates and is linked to a training facility for prison staff.

Bulgaria has been repeatedly criticized for inadequate prison conditions and prison inmates have won a case against Bulgaria for that at the European Court of Human Rights. 

Addressing a forum on the new prison project in Sofia Monday, the Justice Minister said that it was built over a period of one year and four months. It has more than 10 buildings, including the training centre for prison staff, a hotel, a school, library and workshops, among others.

She said that the Ministry and the Directorate General for Execution of Penalties will continue to build on what has been achieved and further improve conditions in prisons. 

The project was funded by the Justice Programme of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Norway Grants.

Kim Ekhaugen, the Director of International Unit at the Directorate of Norwegian Correctional Service (NO), who was at the Sofia conference, said that the real work that will bring the desired changes, begins now. He also said that the new prison will likely save lives.

Ekhaugen mentioned difficulties in the planning stage and during the implementation of the Samoranovo project but the Bulgarian partners were always able to find a solution with their creative approach. 

Ivaylo Yordanov, the Director of the Directorate General for Execution of Penalties, said that it is the first Bulgarian prison without bars. The inmates will be included in various education and work activities. Also, there will be dedicated work with the inmates’ families. 150 prison staff have already been trained, Yordanov said. 

Speaking to the press after the conference, he said that the new facility is meant for inmates with longer sentences and will "likely open in September". 

He commented that the conditions in prisons are important for the staff and society at large - not just the inmates. "Anybody can end up in prison. Our role is o work with the inmates and prepare them to return to free life and re-join the community, to transform and not make the same mistakes," said Yordanov.

The Justice Minister added that the future prison will have a state-of-the-art security system.

She added that prison conditions have been improving since 2017, when focused monitoring started - albeit at incremental steps and, "unfortunately, mostly thanks to support from foreign donors". 

The Minister said that the next goals of the Ministry is quality staff training and restructuring of the state-owned company which is in charge of prisons' economic activity. 

She also said that a Ministry working group is going through the Execution of Penalties Act because "some of the provisions are outdated and need to be updated".