From left: David Gowen, Zoran Stojkovic and Dragoljub Loncarevic
Speaking at a press conference at which a report of the Ministry's Directorate for Enforcement of Penalties for last year was presented, Stojkovic reminded the public that a centre for the training of prison staff was set up, a prison hospital in Belgrade was renovated, all prisons in Serbia were provided with central heating and special attention was dedicated to juvenile offenders.
The Minister said that great efforts have been made to harmonise the enforcement of penalties with EU standards and reiterated that special attention was dedicated to centers for juvenile crime, as well as to educational programmes that will enable a more efficient resocialisation of offenders.
Head of the Directorate for Enforcement of Penalties Dragoljub Loncarevic said that the Directorate now deals with a new category of persons suspected and convicted of organised crime and war crimes, and explained that this requires new infrastructural projects that would meet the needs of their accommodation and placement.
Loncarevic said that it is expected that the renovation of the special, third pavilion in the Penitentiary-Reformatory Centre in Sremska Mitrovica will be completed in May this year. The third pavilion is meant for those serving sentences for organised and war crimes. In June the construction of the eighth pavilion of the Zabela prison in Pozarevac for the same category of prisoners should be finished.
He added that 41 by-laws are also in preparation, as envisaged by the Law on enforcement of penalties which was adopted last year.
British Ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro David Gowen said that the British Department for International Development (DFID) will continue to help reforms in this area of judiciary in the future.
Gowen assessed the reforms in the prison system of Serbia positively, as well as the work in adopting by-laws in the area of enforcement of penalties.
Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia-Montenegro Hans Ola Urstad recalled that the cooperation of the Mission with the Ministry of Justice led to the adoption of a new law, and voiced hope that cooperation during the upcoming year will secure better results in the work of the Directorate for Enforcement of Penalties.
He said that the OSCE will continue to support reforms in the Serbian prison and justice system.