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Updated on: 9 November 2020
Hospital.
Only the necessary and compulsory ones and under sanitary observation.
From 13 May onwards the plan is to recover the ordinary penitentiary activity (visits, inmates outgoings, transfers, therapeutic activities), depending on the location of the prison and following the general sanitary instructions.
Nevertheless, there are some specific rules. For example, visits are restarting, but limited to two people and avoiding physical contact during visits.
In Spain we have visits with the measures provided by sanitary authorities, but depending on the situation and general measures applied in each geographical area of the country. Some areas are not as much affected as others. That is why there are different restrictions between different prisons. The principle we try to follow is to apply similar restrictions to inmates and citizens outside prisons.
In general, organised activities with the participation of external agents have been suspended. Other activities depend on the prison and its facilities. Also, it depends on the inmates. Many of them are asking to stay in their own cells. For compensating the lack of communications, inmates have more telephone calls.
Tele-medicine is going to stay and is currently widely used. (Tele-medicine is a measure that was developed in the last years due to the lack of penitentiary doctors.)
Inmate’s work is suspended. Nevertheless, some prisons are making masks and sanitary protecting material.
Working activity has been reactivated in 11 prisons, where it is possible to achieve sanitary compulsory measures.
In central services, working from home has been generalised.
In prisons, present work is reduced to the necessary. For example, not all administrative workers are working at the same time.
Since 20 April 6 more prison doctors have started and 40 more are expected to start in 1.5 month.
They are starting to be distributed. The problem is that there is a general lack of material in the country.
As Administration we are trying to be clear and transparent, communicating periodically new measures.
Dealing with inmate’s rights restrictions and the pandemic, the principle is to follow the same rules as the ones for the rest of the society. Both, health care laws and penitentiary normative are take into account in stablishing the limits.
On behalf of Spanish Prison Service (Central Administration), no specific normative change has taken place.
On behalf of Spanish Prison Service (central administration), restrictive decisions are taken case by case, depending on the geographical situation of each prison and also the active positive cases inside the penitentiary center.
Due to the State of Alarm Act, most activities are suspended and isolation is the leading motive we are following.
The principle for the recovery of penitentiary activity is to follow the instructions given by the health authority to the region where the prison is located. As for Cataluña, there are 4 phases and different regions can be in different phases.
From this point of view, we have divided the penitentiary activity in three diferent areas: ordinary regime, open regime and alternative measures. The attached orders are related to them. Each order for each area.
Dealing with ordinary regime, the main ideas are:
Dealing with open prisons:
Dealing with alternative measures:
Sólo para Centros de Inserción Social y secciones abiertas:
For any further questions regarding the procedures in the state of emergency taken by the General Directorate of Prison Administration of Spain please contact the following:
Maria Puerto Solar Calvo (Data Protection Officer)
General Directorate of Prison Administration of Spain
Release Strategy / Electronic Monitoring (9 April 2020)
Regulations for prison staff in contact with persons suspected of infection (16 April 2020)
Recovery plan for the ordinary penitentiary activities (13 May 2020)
Spain recovery measures for open prisons (20 May 2020)
Measures for de-escalating of the COVID-19 regulations (22 May 2020)