How is a penitentiary institution built according to the standards of the European penal system?
- Details
- Published: July 20, 2022
IRZ organised a study strip to Baden-Württemberg from 20 to 24 June 2022 as part of the technical assistance provided to the Armenian Ministry of Justice regarding the planned construction of a new correctional facility. The itinerary included visits to the penitentiary institutions in Karlsruhe, Offenburg and Stuttgart, as well as to the Bildungszentrum Justizvollzug Baden-Württemberg, a training centre for prison staff in Germany.
The technical assistance aims to accompany the construction of a new correctional facility in Armenia according to the latest standards of a humane penitentiary system as early as during the planning phase.
Intense discussions between the Armenian delegation and the German team of experts in the respective correctional institutions focused on prison concepts and their structural feasibility and were followed by on-site visits.
Led by the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Arpine Sargsyan, the Armenian delegation consisted of the penitentiary expert team from the Armenian Ministry of Justice, the commissioned architect and the president of the NGO Social Justice.
The following consultants were involved in the discussions on the German side:
- Thomas Müller, Prison Director at the Karlsruhe Penal Institution,
- Hans-Peter Wurdak, Prison Director at the Offenburg Penal Institution,
- Matthias Nagel, Prison Director at the Stuttgart Penal Institution,
- Heiko Oberle, Deputy Prison Director at the Karlsruhe Penal Institution,
- Dr Joachim Obergfell-Fuchs, Director of the Bildungszentrum Justizvollzug Baden-Württemberg,
- Heinz Brüche, correctional officer, Bildungszentrum Justizvollzug Baden-Württemberg.
IRZ has advised the Armenian Ministry of Justice on reforms of the Armenian penitentiary system for several years (on the draft of the new Penitentiary Code, which entered into force on 1 July 2022, on staff training at various penitentiary institutions and on other matters).
Key support in questions of penitentiary law relating to the new correctional facility building is entrusted to IRZ expert Thomas Müller, who has provided advice on the penitentiary system for several years together with Heinz Brüche.