Europe worries about virus timebomb in its prisons

Monitoring Desk

BRUSSELS: European governments fear often overcrowded prisons are virus timebombs during this pandemic and are looking at early releases and other ways to reduce the risk for those behind bars.

The issue of those locked up while whole countries were locked down was discussed during a video conference of EU justice ministers held on Monday. EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders, who also took part, tweeted that the impact of COVID-19 was looked at, along with “measures taken relating to the functioning of (the) justice system”.

Croatia, which chaired the meeting in its role holding the rotating EU presidency, said there was an exchange of information on prison and pre-trial detention in relation to the pandemic.

While no EU-wide policy has yet emerged, individual member states have already taken steps to reduce penitentiary populations, aware that social distancing is impossible for those incarcerated.

France, for instance, has since mid-March reduced its prisoner and detainee population by nearly 10 percent, by putting off custodial sentences for less-serious crimes, suspending terms for medical reasons, freeing some who were jailed awaiting trial, and allowing early release.

That has cut its number of inmates to 66,300, the French justice minister told AFP last week — though many of its 188 prisons are overcrowded. (APP)