Deputy prime Minister and Justice Minister Duško Marković, Director of the Institute for Execution of Criminal Sanctions Milan Radović, and Executive Director of NGO “Human Rights Action” (HRA) Tea Gorjanc Prelević signed today the Agreement on Cooperation on the project ”Monitoring Respect for Human Rights in Closed Institutions in Montenegro”.

Objective of the project is to monitor and promote human rights, especially right to protection from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment in prisons, and other closed institutions in Montenegro. HRA, the project leader, implements the project with partner organisations: Centre for Anti-Discrimination “EQUISTA”, Centre for Civic Education (CCE), Women’s Safe House, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, and Latvian Centre for Human Rights.

The event was attended by Danilo Ajković (CCE) and Milan Šaranović (EQUISTA) as well.

The Agreement implies visits of trained monitors to prisons in Podgorica and Biljelo Polje, discussion of NGO recommendations with representatives of the Institute for Criminal Sanctions and the Ministry of Justice, the analysis of processed complaints of maltreatment, publication of brochures on the rights of detained and imprisoned persons, development of publication with translation of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, and implementation of raising awareness campaign for promotion of the rights of residents of the prison and other closed institutions.

The project is financed by the European Union and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

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Tea Gorjanc Prelević – statement regarding the signed Agreement

The project is based on the principle that imprisoned persons are only deprived of freedom while they can still enjoy other human rights.  The progress of the state is measured the best, among other things, by conditions in closed institutions, in which public rarely or never has access, such as prisons, psychiatric hospitals, police detention units, etc. This Agreement will enable us to observe living conditions of imprisoned persons and social care institutions and suggest their improvement if so required.