Romania
Capital city — Bucharest
Seen in the press
Read our selection of press reports about this country. This is a short description of prison conditions on a national scale. It gives an account of the preceding year’s events.
Romania: does everyone really have the right to a lawyer?
The justice system in Romania seemed stacked against people who can't afford a private lawyer, as court appointed counsel are blocked from serving their clients properly.
Source — Liberties
Romania: wiretapping, secret service control and dire prison conditions, scrutiny of Romania justice system as the country hosts the EU Summit
Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European Commission, says Romania, which currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, must make further efforts to fully reach European standards on the…
Source — Eureporter
Roumaine : pourquoi le pays veut vider ses prisons
Source – Le Point
This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
Covert cooking: how to bake a pie in prison
Source - The Guardian
When May Eaton was a writer in residence at a men’s jail, she found the inmates’ real creativity lay in the cakes and curries they made in their cells.
Romania could introduce electronic monitoring to reduce prison overcrowding
Source - Romania-Insider
Romania’s Justice Ministry considers introducing electronic monitoring for convicts to reduce overcrowding in prisons, said justice minister Tudorel Toader yesterday, quoted by…
Inmates in Romania, closer to having sentences reduced due to bad detention conditions
Source - Romania Insider
The inmates in Romania who are serving time in improper conditions may have their sentences reduced by 20%. The Chamber of Deputies adopted on Tuesday, May 9, the project that…
Justice
Romanian Senate’s committee votes pardon for jail sentences of up to 3 years
Source - Romania Insider
The Romanian Senate’s legal committee yesterday approved an amendment to the pardon law that grants full pardon only to prison sentences of up to three years.
Overcrowding
New prisons to accommodate overcrowded inmates would cost Romania more than EUR 1 billion
Source - Romania Insider
Marius Vulpe, the director of National Penitentiaries Administration (ANP), said Romania would need to build 8 modern prisons to solve the issue of prison overcrowding, News.ro…
Justice
Romania: Europe rights court blasts Romania prison conditions
Source - Euractiv
The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday (25 April) took Romania to task for its dismal prison conditions, saying they could be considered inhumane and degrading.
Overcrowding
European commission criticises Romania over prisoner pardon plan
Source - The Guardian
Move to free thousands of criminals could hinder fight against corruption and undermine rule of law, officials warn
Romania’s justice minister: amnesty shouldn’t be considered, but pardon should
Source - Romania Insider
Romania’s justice minister Florin Iordache said on Tuesday that pardon should be considered to solve problem of overcrowded prisons, but a law on amnesty shouldn’t be taken into…
Life in romanian prisons before the country joined the EU
Source - Vice
Circumstances in Romanian prisons were pretty dire before the country joined the EU. Photographer Cosmin Bumbut documented the change.
