Facing overcrowded prisons, justice hopes in amnesty

Inhumane conditions continue to accompany the serving of sentences for persons deprived of liberty in North Macedonia. Inadequate spaces have turned the penitentiary-correctional institutions into overloaded facilities, a situation reflected both in the way convicts are accommodated and in the social relations among them within the prison premises.

Data from the Ombudsman show that compared to 2024, overcrowding in the Idrizovo institution doubled during 2025. While the capacity foresees the presence of 1,187 prisoners, 1,402 persons are registered there, that is 215 more. The situation in the Shtip prison is also serious: against a maximum of 139 places, 255 convicts were counted, or 116 more than allowed. Two wards in Shutka hold a total of 79 persons above the approved capacity, the excess in Prilep reaches 35, while in Bitola there are 22 prisoners.

Instead of investing in expanding capacities and improving conditions – as recommended by the Ombudsman to guarantee dignified treatment – the prison administration is seeking a way out of the crisis through amnesty. The proposed scheme envisages the removal of 10 to 20 percent of the sentence for certain types of criminal offenses. The final word on this measure, however, remains with the Ministry of Justice.

Such a practice is not unfamiliar to the country. In 2018, with the aim of relieving prisons, 750 convicted persons were released.

Nevertheless, experts warn that amnesty must be handled with care. An analysis by the Macedonian Association of Penology on the effects of this measure emphasizes that, in the absence of resocialization, very often amnestied persons end up behind bars again, so it does not constitute a real solution to the overcrowding.

Precisely for this reason, the necessity of strengthening the probation system is emphasized, within which convicts are supervised and rehabilitated outside prison, instead of serving their sentence behind bars, when the court decision allows it. Although this mechanism has been functioning for years, the European Commission has highlighted the need for its more frequent application.

The caretaker Minister of Justice, Igor Filkov, has presented the new legal solution, which is still expected to pass through approval procedures. According to the presentation, the new legislation aims to strengthen the supervision and resocialization of convicted persons, enabling more efficient implementation of alternative measures to prison.

Within the changes, electronic monitoring is foreseen for persons under house arrest, risk assessment and individual rehabilitation programs, the purpose of which is to prevent the repetition of criminal offenses. For the first time, the draft law also contains a separate chapter dedicated to the protection of victims, mainly in cases of domestic violence and gender-based violence. /Alsat/