European Committee insists on the abolition of life sentence without parole in Bulgaria

The topic raised by Vice President Margarita Popova about the abolition of life imprisonment without parole has now a European response. It comes from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Committee expressed their regret that the Bulgarian Penal Code has not abolished the punishment "life imprisonment without parole". According to the Committee, this punishment is inhumane, because it suggests no hope for release for the prisoner. Minister of Justice Diana Kovatcheva said, in turn, that the Penal Code will most likely repeal life imprisonment without parole.

In a report, prepared after the visit of representatives of the Committee to Bulgaria in May this year, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment defined living conditions in the prisons in Varna and Bourgas as unacceptable. The Committee welcomes the fact that both these prisons have taken actions to integrate life-sentenced prisoners with the rest of their inmates. The document notes that overcrowding remains a major problem for sentences serving sites in Bulgaria, as well as for the two prisons visited. The report urged Bulgarian authorities to redouble their efforts to solve the problem.

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