[JURIST] The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture [official website] on Thursday criticized [report, PDF] Bulgaria for its treatment of prisoners. The report highlighted major concerns that the committee had expressed with Bulgarian authorities and noted that over time these concerns had not been addressed adequately, but had in fact worsened. The report stated that the material conditions in three of the prisons were in an “ever-worsening state of dilapidation,” and that the material conditions at the prisons amounted “to inhuman and degrading treatment.” While conditions at some prisons had improved, the improvements were “extremely limited” in their extent. The committee concluded by saying that its goal in releasing the report is that it will be used “as a tool that helps the Bulgarian authorities to identify shortcomings and make the necessary changes.”

The torture and ill treatment of prisoners and detainees is still a controversial issue throughout the world. Earlier this month the UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan Méndez [official website] outlined [press release] the substantial progress Georgia has made [JURIST report] in eliminating torture and poor conditions in their prisons. The progress seen in Georgia was a result of an internationally demanded [JURIST report] investigation into prisoner’s human rights after a video showing prisoners being tortured and raped was released. The investigation implicated Georgia’s former justice minister, and led to him being charged with torture [JURIST report]. However, prisoner torture is a problem worldwide. In October 2013 Méndez called on the US to end the indefinite solitary confinement [JURIST report] imposed upon a former Black Panther in 1972, stating that such a long tenure in solitary confinement was not acceptable under human rights law. A year later Mendez inspected prisons in Ghana [JURIST report] and found them to violate human rights as they were cruel, inhuman and degrading. Last April the UN expressed concern about Iran’s refusal [JURIST report] to afford medical care to political prisoners that were dying in detention. Five months later an open statement by an Arab rights group accused Egyptian authorities of the torture and sexual abuse [JURIST report] of 52 teenagers who were detained for protesting.