Up to four percent of Polish prisoners have less than 3 square meters of living space, in violation of a new act on overcrowded prisons.

The newly adopted act on overcrowded prisons, stipulates that a prison may provide less than three square meters per person only in emergency situations such as natural disasters or epidemics.

The Justice Ministry assures that due to steps taken within the last couple of weeks, the total number of prisoners deprived of the statutory capacity norms totaled 3,000 people – that is 3.6 percent of the overall number of convicts. An average of 97 percent of total capacity is occupied in Polish correctional facilities. There are over 85,000 offenders held in Polish prisons.

In late November, the European Court of Human Rights ruled compensation for two Polish prisoners who had filed a complaint for being held in overcrowded cells in the country. (aba/mmj)