European Council & Greek Justice Ministry approve prison reforms program

A two-year program on improving health services in Greek prisons was approved on Wednesday by representatives of the Council of Europe (COE) and officials at the Greek Ministry of Justice, Transparency & Human Rights. The program will be funded with 600,000 euros by the COE's Human Rights Trust Fund.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Justice announced the initial planning for the implementation of the program and outlined its main objectives and actions with a view to ensuring an equal ditstribution of health services to detainees.

The program's objective is to upgrade health services in prisons, through staff training, the development of scientific protocols based on international standards, and the strengthening of cooperation between the relevant authorities.

The approval of the plan exemplifies the consistent collaboration of the Justice Ministry with the Council of Europe over the last four years, said Eftixis Fitrakis, the ministry's anti-criminal policy secretery general.

In her part, Tanja Rakusic-Hadzic of the COE's Criminal Law division reiterated a firm commitment to support Greece's prison reform, and stressed that this program provides the necessary know-how and resources to improve the provision terms of prison health services.