Courts are being flooded with complaints from prisoners, suing the state for compensation, ranging from 100,000 to 1 million zlotys (about 25,000-250,000 euros).

Prisoners list overcrowding, stuffy air, too high or too low temperature, poor furnishing of prison cells, shortages of soap and other means of hygiene as well as lack of entertainment.

In 2007, prisoners filed 743 complaints, mostly slamming cell overcrowding. Last year, complaints concerning overcrowding alone exceeded 1,800.

The avalanche of lawsuits is paralyzing the work of the State Treasury prosecutors. The pile of complaints from prisoners started to rise rapidly after December 2009, when the Constitutional Court ruled an article of the penal code, allowing the standard 3 square meters of space per prisoner to be reduced in some cases. (kk)