Rehabilitation problems of prisoners discussed in Nagorno-Karabakh

The Centre of Civil Initiatives (CCI) in Nagorno-Karabakh has hosted a roundtable on psychological rehabilitation of prisoners, their problems during the arrest and post-prison social adaptation.

The meeting has discussed the concept of the so-called "prison syndrome": many prisoners are living through similar psychological problems caused by their imprisonment. Sometimes it is just a small depression or state of irritability, but sometimes it can lead to a suicide attempt.

In the course of the discussion the participants have also spoken about post-penitentiary rehabilitation of former prisoners; these people, once at large again, should not feel themselves a sort of castaways in the society, they should be provided with jobs, some dwelling room, etc. Such approach, applied for a long time in many countries already, should somehow ensure that crimes do not repeat.

According to Albert Voskanyan, director of the CCI, today the psychologist of their organization is prohibited from visiting the penitentiary establishments. The police of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) have forbidden the Centre of Civil Initiatives to conduct its regular monthly monitoring of all detention facilities in Karabakh.