The situation in Slovene prisons and other detention institutions is satisfactory, no major or mass violations of human rights have been recorded, Ombudsman Ivan Bizjak said in an interview for STA.

Bizjak has prepared a special report about the situation in detention institutions which will be submitted to the parliament. This is his second special report this year; the first, issued in January, focused on the treatment of mentally handicapped people.

Although the general situation in prisons is good, there are cases of unacceptable treatment which can lead to humiliation of prisoners, the ombudsman said. Individuals who are imprisoned are not interested in the general situation, it is their case that matters, therefore the actual respect of human rights is demonstrated by the concrete treatment of each individual, Bizjak emphasized.

The number of imprisoned convicts has been rising in the recent years. In the beginning of 1999 they were 564, while the average number of prisoners in Slovenia ranges between 480 and 500.

Ombudsman Bizjak last year talked to 161 prisoners in different institutions; in addition, 132 convicts and 51 detainees contacted his office.