The Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (KMDLNJ) has reacted after the death of a prisoner who was being held at the Dubrava Correctional Center and was sent for medical treatment to the Peja Hospital.
The KHDRLJ has stated that the construction of a hospital within the Kosovo Correctional Service is necessary in order to improve the health treatment of persons deprived of liberty.
"According to the KMDLNJ, the deceased convict Zhuniqi was urgently sent to the SR in Peja from the Outpatient Unit of the Dubrava Prison, where he was treated within the framework of professional capabilities, which, according to the KMDLNJ, were and are insufficient for the treatment of serious cases. The body of the deceased, by decision of the prosecutor, was sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for autopsy, as foreseen by the LESP. The KMDLNJ has previously emphasized that without the construction of a hospital within the Kosovo Correctional Service, without investment in professional infrastructure by providing additional incentives for health professionals who would work in this hospital, there will be no improvement in the health treatment of persons deprived of liberty despite the maximum commitment of the Prison Health Service," the reaction states.
According to the KMDRLJ, the transportation of prisoners for treatment, especially high-risk cases, also poses a major problem.
"The lack of reception capacity in public health institutions is a major challenge for the KCS and the SHSHB, the first within the Ministry of Justice and the second within the Ministry of Health. For the KMDLNJ, the insensitivity of the courts, even in cases of incurable diseases, by rejecting almost every reasoned request from the Prison Hospital Service for termination of sentence, is of particular concern," the reaction further states.
