During a plenary debate of a bill regarding compensation payments for poor prison conditions in Hungary, Justice Minister Judit Varga said the government aims to put a halt to the "prison business" which “has grown into a billion-forint industry".
According to MTI, the bill proposes suspending the payments until June 15, when the new regulation restoring the natural balance between the compensations for victims and inmates is expected to pass parliament.
The minister said the government will then use the results of the national consultation survey on the issue as a guideline for the new regulations, which will scrap the “unfair practices” employed so far and focus on the interests of the victims and their families.
Minister Varga said that over the past few years the government has built new prisons and continued to develop prison conditions. Overcrowding, the grounds of the compensation lawsuits, is declining, and the inmates have job opportunities.
The minster added that the government is committed to fully eradicating overcrowding. Under the new legislation, the claims of the victims will be met faster and more effectively. The bill also sets a deadline, September 30, to reduce the average occupancy rate of prisons in Hungary to not more than 100%.
Photo credit: Pestisrácok