At the beginning of March 1999, Slovene Ombudsman Mr. Ivan Bizjak presented a Special report on Treatment of persons in custody, an analysis of the state of affairs in the area of the implementation of detention and criminal sanctions. The report has been submitted to the parliament.

The situation in Slovene prisons and other detention institutions is satisfactory, no major or mass violations of human rights have been recorded, stated in the report Ombudsman.

Although the general situation in prisons is good, there are cases of unacceptable treatment which can lead to humiliation of prisoners. 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.

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 last year talked to 161 prisoners in different institutions; in addition, 132 convicts and 51 detainees contacted his office. The special report is also available on the Internet.