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“We are currently in the construction phase of five facilities in the state prison, and soon we will begin construction on the other five. Currently, the concrete, soil and isolation work is being done and the outer facilities are being prepared,” ministry spokesperson Marina Bakic said.
According to current estimates, the first inmates should be sent to the prison in 2016.
The prison will hold inmates processed by the Bosnian state court, which prosecutes the most complex cases involving war crimes, organized crime and corruption.
According to Bakic, 20 convicts are waiting for a place to open up in the new prison in order to be sent there to serve their sentence.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina is achieving positive trends compared to previous years, when we had more inmates and overcrowded prisons. In 2014, 3042 persons were sent to prison, and the prisons in the country currently have 3021 places,” Bakic said.
Thanks to alternative sanctions, such as enforced labour, 506 people or 16 percent of all inmates served their time outside of the prison system. This practice helped ease the burden on the prisons.
“The construction of the state prison will significantly ease prison capacities, which will improve the entity sanction system, and help the entire security situation in the country,” Bakic said.
There are 13 prisons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 7 in the Federation and 6 in Republika Srpska, as well as two detention facilities in the Bosnian court system and the Brcko District.
The construction of the state prison started in 2007 and will cost 38 million euros, provided by donor funds.
The state prison is expected to have the newest and safest security system in the Balkans. The prison’s size will be 24.000 square meters and will hold up to 350 inmates.
