“The County Jail in Belgrade had undergone the adaptation of Block 3-1 capacity for 108 persons deprived of liberty and the renovated ward of the Specialised Prison Hospital will from today on provide much better accommodation for around 68 people “, stated today Minister of Justice Nikola Selakovic after visiting the renovated block of the Psychiatric Ward of the Specialised Prison Hospital and the new block of the County Jail in Belgrade.

Selakovic said that the Ministry of Justice had invested around 80 million dinars into the renovation and adaptation of those two institutes. He explained that the funding had been provided from the State Budget and that certain savings as a result of the construction work had been made. He added that that way had allowed for the creation of far better and more humane conditions of accommodation for the detainees and the convicted, which had been aligned with the highest European standards of prison accommodation.

“The capacity of the County Jail Prison has increased by 25% over the course of this year. This means that the hospital, which until yesterday could only accommodate 50 persons, will now be able to accommodate 68 people in incomparably better conditions “, stated Selakovic.

He highlighted that the laundry room of the Specialised Prison Hospital had also been refurbished to meet the needs of the Hospital, i.e., it had been made more suitable for the service of laundry washing and drying.

“Next year, we will continue with the refurbishment of the Specialised Prison Hospital and the County Jail in Belgrade. One block in each of these buildings is planned to be improved. This way, prison accommodation will improve significantly for the detainees, i.e., persons kept for treatment and persons who had been issued a judgement of medical treatment“, concluded Selakovic.

Minister of Health Zlatibor Loncar stated that the Ministry of Health would ensure the employees working in the Specialised Prison Hospital get the status they deserved. He added that the Ministry would help them with their cooperation with health clinics outside the County Prison in getting consultations when needed.