The conditions at the Hospital for Convicts penitentiary
institution of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia are inhumane and degrading. As
a matter of fact, there were no patients in the department during the visit,
but some people are currently receiving treatment there.
In particular, the monitoring visit of the Office of
the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, implemented as a National Preventive
Mechanism recorded that a segment of the first floor of the department of phthisiology
of the Hospital for Convicts penitentiary institution is dedicated for
inpatient treatment of coronavirus patients.
The coronavirus department has two wards and one
bathroom. The wards are furnished with dilapidated, broken sideboards and iron
beds (at the time of the visit there were 5 beds in one ward and 3 beds in the
other). The floor of the wards is dilapidated, and the plaster on the walls and
ceiling is spilled. The same conditions were recorded in the corridor of the
mentioned department
The bathroom of the coronavirus department is in a
very unacceptable sanitary condition, and its conditions are degrading and
inhumane.
The sinks are dilapidated and dirty. Due to the high
humidity, the walls of the bathroom are moldy, and the plaster of the ceiling
is completely spilled.
The bathrooms are equipped with Asian-style toilets,
which are also in an unacceptable sanitary condition.
The visible water pipes in the bathroom are rusty.
According to the official statement of the Ministry of
Justice of Armenia, an action plan has been developed to prevent epidemics in
the system, as well as a plan in case of necessary measures in case COVID-19 is
detected, through which various scenarios of epidemic-related developments and
appropriate response mechanisms were considered.
The Hospital for Convicts penitentiary institution plays
a key role in this program.
However, during the National Prevention Mechanism visit
to the Hospital for Convicts penitentiary institution, it was revealed that
there was no infection prevention strategy nor a clear action plan with a clear
functional separation for the new Covid-19 virus.
The issue is that the Hospital for Convicts receives and
organizes treatment for patients from all penitentiary institutions who have
been diagnosed with the new Covid-19 virus.
Clarifications were provided to the Office of the Human
Rights Defender, that the Hospital for Convicts is guided only by the April 7,
2020, instruction of the Minister of Justice of Armenia 2, which does not set
up any other clear regulations (sanitary rules, methods of their implementation
and registration, scope of persons responsible for it)) other than keeping the persons
who have entered the penitentiary institution in the quarantine department for
14 days.
It was revealed that the persons deprived of liberty
entering the Hospital for Convicts penitentiary institution were not isolated in
its quarantine department; they were immediately placed in the relevant
department.
It is intolerable that the quarantine department operates
without serving its prime purpose, as a result of which the 14-day preventive
isolation of persons admitted to a penitentiary institution is not ensured.
At the time of the visit, a detainee was being kept in
the quarantine department; the latter had been in isolation for a long time due
to security reasons.
In order to prevent the new coronavirus (COVID-19)
infection, a sanitary treatment house was installed near the entrance to the
residential area of the Hospital for Convicts penitentiary institution, which
is provided for with a water supply, sewage system, a bath, a sink, and other
necessary items to prevent the spread of the infection during the entry and
exit of medical personnel. However, at the time of the visit, it was recorded
that it was not being used.
Thermometers to measure temperature and other
preventive measures are not taken when entering the Hospital for Convicts penitentiary
institution to help prevent the new coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.
Temperature measurement is not carried out regularly
among persons deprived of liberty; it is carried out only of necessity and medical
instructions.
Other measures aimed at preventing infection are also
implemented poorly in the area of the institution. Hence, during the visit, it
was recorded that most of the employees in the administrative building of the
Hospital for Convicts penitentiary institution do not wear masks, do not follow
the anti-pandemic rules, do not disinfect their hands, and do not maintain
social distancing. Some members of the medical staff did not wear masks (or did
not wear them properly).
There were no closed garbage bins for masks and gloves
in the corridors of certain departments of the penitentiary institution. The
disinfectant dispensers attached to the walls of the penitentiary institution
near the entrance and the various departments were empty.
It was revealed that medical masks are provided to
detainees only when they get released from the institution.
The Hospital for Convicts subdivision of the Prison Medical
Center SNCO (hereinafter referred to as the Subdivision) was equipped with
disinfectants, chlorine, and personal protective equipment. As for the
penitentiary staff, they did not have access to the disinfectants and
protective equipment provided to the subdivision.
The administration of the penitentiary institution
does not make sufficient efforts to provide the staff with disinfectants and
protective equipment.
Information posters on the prevention of new
coronavirus (COVID-19) infection were attached to the walls of the doctors'
offices and the corridors of different departments of the penitentiary institution.
Rapid diagnostic tests for the coronavirus (COVID-19)
infection were available at the subdivision, which were used as per necessity.
There were two oxygenators (oxygen concentrators), each designed to supply
oxygen to four patients at a time.
The mentioned issues were recorded as a result of the
April 12, 2021 visit, on the basis of the studies conducted as a result of the
visit, which the Human Rights Defender sent to the Ministry of Justice of
Armenia with a separate reference, i.e. a detailed analysis.
In addition, the recorded problems and detailed
solutions suggested by the Defender concerning the state of preventing the new
Covid-19 infection in the penitentiary institutions of the Ministry of Justice,
and the "Prison Medical Center" SNCO are reflected the 2020 Annual
Report of the National Preventive Mechanism for torture prevention. (https://ombuds.am/.../de9d93e7fe42e0fb57562fdea702609e.pdf):
The Defender of Human Rights of Armenia publishes this
statement because the new coronavirus (COVID-19) infection is again showing a worrying
growth tendency in the country.
And the described inhumane and degrading conditions
not only fail to ensure effective prevention of the infection but also create
the risk of spreading it, especially since there are currently people receiving
treatment.
Moreover, proposals are regularly submitted to the
Ministry of Justice, but there are no real changes in the situation.
Mr. Arman Tatoyan
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia
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