Penology

A court has ruled that the Justice Ministry and the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Centers must pay 100,000 Turkish Liras  ($ 25,430) in damages to an inmate after he suffered a serious medical infection in jail in the western province of Bursa.

The number of workshops employing inmates in jails across Turkey has reached to 1,700, with more than 50,000 prisoners working under the program overseen by the Ministry of Justice.

The Justice Ministry said on Saturday that a prison officer at Attica's maximum-security Korydallos Prison has denied media reports that he was beaten and whipped last week by inmates.

In a statement, the Justice Ministry accused opposition New Democracy of deliberately pushing the claim through conservative-affiliated media outlets.

Police stormed a riot-torn prison in Bolivia March 14, killing six inmates in an operation that also left two dozen people injured, authorities said.

Justice Minister Tudorel Toader announced at a news conference on Monday that the inmate population in Romania is on a downward trend, with the number of outgoing detainees exceeding the number of incoming inmates.

He added that the size of the inmate population in Romania is 22,884, while 12,795 civil servants are working in the penitentiary system as special status prison staff.

Child abusers should be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment as a deterrent measure, Canan Güllü, the head of the Federation of Women Associations of Turkey (TKDF) has said.

Amnesty International’s Turkey chair, Taner Kılıç, remains in detention despite a court ruling for his release and he is expected to appear in court on Feb. 1, the rights group has said.

An Istanbul court on Jan. 31 ordered the release of Taner Kılıç, the Turkey head of international rights group Amnesty International.

Prison officers are again protesting.

Montana, Kardjali, Smolyan, Pernik and Pazardzhik are the next cities which are going to support the protest of the Prison Syndicates.

There will be also protests at the Courts of Justice  in 10 other cities in the country.

Two days ago, prison staff went out on the streets demanding pay increases and more job positions.

The union representing the country's prison guards has complained of frequent attacks against its members, both inside Greek penitentiaries and against their vehicles.

"Recently the attacks against prison workers have intensified and the political leadership of the Justice Ministry acts as if nothing is happening," the union said.