Justice Minister Maria Pavlova on Friday opened a new prison dormitory and a new halfway house in Burgas. The dormitory is located in the vicinity of the Burgas prison and has a capacity for 69 people, while the halfway house has a capacity for 10 people. The facility was built under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.
“It is important to build such transitional units in as many prisons as possible, as these facilities are of particular importance for the reintegration of prisoners. The idea is that in this way and using the good practices of the Norwegian state and the correctional service, we will reduce reoffending rates,” Pavlova said. She pointed out that BGN 1.3 million were invested in the dormitory and stated that this is the last project under the already expired programming period of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
“Large projects were the dormitories in Plovdiv and Vratsa, the detention centres in Samoranovo and Petrich, as well as the training centre in Pazardzhik. We are proud of what we have achieved, because in this way we improve not only the conditions for prisoners and meet all international standards of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, but we also improve the working conditions of our employees, which is of primary importance for us,” Pavlova emphasized.
Chief Commissioner Ivaylo Yordanov, Chief Director of the General Directorate Execution of Sentences, said that the new dormitory is another step to improve the conditions for both prisoners and employees. “With another hostel that we open today, we see that we meet all the European requirements and succeed in many goals, including the reduction of prison violence, improving the conditions of the employees, improving all measures regarding the reintegration and resocialization of prisoners,” Yordanov pointed out.
/MY/
