The prison of Târgșorul Nou, in Ploiești, is the only women-only facility.
There are women’s units of varying sizes in the prisons of Arad, Bacău, Craiova, Gherla, Constanța -Poarta Albă and Mioveni.
In other facilities, there are cells reserved for female prisoners awaiting transfer.

Searches are conducted by a female staff member.

A gynaecologist examines female prisoners at their arrival. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) reports that the prisons of Bacău et Gherla have no framework in place to evaluate issues affecting female prisoners, such as mental health, gynaecological care or self-harm. Women are not asked whether they have experienced sexual violence. In 2018, the CPT noted that the feminine hygiene kits given out for free each month were insufficient.¹

Female prisoners who are held in a women’s unit within a men’s prison are frequently denied access to activities and struggle to access education and work. During a visit to Bacău prison in 2018, the CPT observed that untried female prisoners and women held under maximum security regimes have access to very few activities¹.

The only women-only institution, Târgșorul prison, has a living space for mothers imprisoned with their children . The living space comprises two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. The bedrooms have children’s beds, changing tables and toys. Women imprisoned with their children have a dedicated courtyard.¹

Women in prison with their children receive special food. Children receive regular visits from a general practitioner or paediatrician. They are vaccinated.

Minors are not subject to a specific independent justice system. The Penal Code and the Code of Penal Procedure, resulting from the reform of penal law in 2014, refer to minors. The new Penal Code modified the punishments that can be given to minors who have committed a criminal offence.
Minors are judged by ordinary courts. These courts have specialised divisions to deal with cases involving minors and family matters. In general, minors have the same procedural guarantees as adults. However, the probation service plays a greater role in cases involving minors. If the court requests it, the service can submit an evaluation of the minor’s situation. Trials involving minors not open to the public.
Minors cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment. The maximum possible prison sentence for minors is 15 years.¹

The law sets out particular sanctions for minors. They may be subject to ‘educational’ measures, which may or may not involve the deprivation of liberty:

• civic programmes: these programmes can last for up to four months and aim to help the minor to understand the consequences of their actions
• probationary measures: the minor’s social relations and school attendance are monitored over a period of two to six months
• a measure referred to as day-to-day assistance: the minor must follow a programme of activities coordinated by the probation service for a period of three to six months
• curfew: this measure is implemented every weekend for a period of four to twelve weeks
• deprivation of liberty¹

Minors whose sentences involve the deprivation of liberty are held in two types of institutions:

• educational centres, for a period of one to three years
• prisons for minors, for a period of two to five years

These two types of institutions are overseen by the prison service.

On 16 July 2019, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) visited the juvenile prison in Tichilești. On that date, the facility held 199 young people, or 70% of its operational capacity.
Minors are held in shared cells for three to five people. Each cell has storage space and a television. The cells do not have air conditioning and are described as suffocating in the summer. The report indicates that ‘quarantine’ cells for new arrivals and sick prisoners are in terrible condition and are infested with flies.
The kitchens are in a state of disrepair. Nonetheless, the food offered is adequate for the nutritional needs of young prisoners.
The NPM noted the existence of an area of the prison with about ten places, inspired by the Scandinavian model and funded by the Norwegian government, where prisoners coming to the end of their sentences have a greater degree of autonomy.
In 2018, a library with several thousand books opened in Tichilești. The prison has a sports court. Information desks are accessible. Minors can use these desks to check hearing dates, their bank account and their legal situation.¹

Teaching is provided by national education officials.
Minors and young prisoners have access to different types of group and individual activities and workshops, advice, psychological support and moral education.
Orthodox prisoners can attend religion classes.
The prison service judges the participation of young prisoners in the activities provided by the educational centre of Buziaş to be satisfactory. Numerous associations and institutions are involved with this centre.¹

Numerous specialised psychologists and educators work in the education centres and prisons for minors.
In 2019, the NPM recommended further education for all staff working in facilities for minors. In the view of the NPM, the psychologists and educators should have better adapted offices and their own IT equipment to carry out their work.¹

As of December 2019, the following nationalities were most represented in prison: Turkish (16.1%), Moldovan (16.1%), Ukrainian (7.6%), Hungarian (4.2%), Bulgarian (4.2%), Iranian (3.8%), Serbian (3.8%) and Syrian (3.8%).¹

Crossing the Romanian border illegally is punishable by six months to three years in prison or by a fine. Foreigners who are already banned from entering the country can be sentenced to one to five years in prison. This does not apply to minors and or to individuals who are recognised as victims of human trafficking.¹

Like all prisoners, foreign inmates can make phone calls to ten people in Romania or abroad. They can contact family members, a lawyer, a notary and a bailiff.

Foreign prisoners do not have a special regime of visits. They are allowed to talk to visitors in their mother tongue.

Individuals sentenced to more than three years in prison are automatically placed in a closed regime at the start of their sentence. Individuals sentenced to more than 13 years in prison are placed in a maximum security regime. This can be re-evaluated during their sentence.

A life sentence can be imposed in the following cases: homicide or attempted homicide with aggravating circumstances (premeditation, cruelty)¹, high treason, crimes against the security of the state, mass poisoning, murder or attempted murder of foreign diplomats, genocide or crimes against humanity.²
A life sentence can also be imposed for wartime treason, surrender or desertion on the battlefield and the majority of war crimes.³

Life-sentenced prisoners are placed in a maximum security regime from the start of their sentence.

A life-sentenced prisoner may apply for parole after 20 years. They must have demonstrated good behaviour. When the court judges that the person can be reintegrated into society, they may be released with a ten-year probation period.¹

The length of pre-trial detention is initially limited to 30 days. The prosecutor may request that a judge renew it for an additional 30 days. The total duration of the pre-trial detention cannot exceed 180 days.¹

Untried prisoners can request the judge to revoke their pre-trial detention and replace it with an alternative measure (judicial supervision, house arrest, warning, etc.)¹

Untried prisoners are generally placed in shared cells. When they are detained in a prison facility, they are held separately from convicted prisoners. They are authorised to make three phone calls per week. Adults can receive four visits, and potentially a conjugal visit if their pre-trial imprisonment lasts longer than 60 days.
Untried minors can receive six visits per month. There is usually a separation device in place during these visits.
Untried prisoners are authorised to work and take part in certain activities. They can access the library. They are subject to similar search and monitoring controls to prisoners who have been sentenced.¹

In remand centres, there is insufficient bedding. The windows are too narrow to ensure adequate ventilation, and sanitary facilities are in poor condition. Numerous prisoners have made complaints about the food. Most of them can only leave their cell for one to two hours per day, to walk in small yards (between 8 m² in Cluj and 20 m² in Iași). These yards are sometimes partially covered by a Plexiglas roof panel.
In correctional facilities, untried prisoners can only take part in activities for a few hours per month.
Paid work is not authorised. The CPT notes that there are untried prisoners working in exchange for small rewards, such as longer visits.²

During the CPT visits to Bacău and Iaşi prisons in 2018, Roma prisoners stated that they were subject to racist insults from guards.¹ Ethnic minorities, and particularly Roma people, face numerous prejudices in Romania.² Judges and prosecutors who met with the association APADOR-CH acknowledged structural judicial discrimination affecting Roma people. Although there is a lack of official statistics, they are heavily overrepresented in the prison population.

The prison service does not provide specific protection for LGBTI prisoners.
In its visits to Galaţi prison, the CPT learnt that one male prisoner was forced to perform oral sex on an officer. The Romanian authorities affirmed that the victim was gay. The CPT states that ‘Sexual violence in prison is not linked to homosexuality per se but to power relations and humiliation of the victim.’ The CPT judges that the internal oversight body has failed in its mission by ignoring multiple allegations of mistreatment of prisoners.¹

Elderly prisoners do not benefit from specific arrangements or care.
Prisoners over the age of 65 at the time of their trial cannot be sentenced to life in prison. The maximum sentence for them is 30 years.¹

The prison service sometimes employs prisoners to provide support to prisoners who need assistance because of a disability. Some inmates may also have a guide dog.¹
The presence of an interpreter is mandatory at the hearings of deaf and hard-of-hearing prisoners.²
The CPT recommends that prison staff receive training to respond to the specific needs of disabled prisoners.³