Skopje, 15 August 2024 (MIA) — The Idrizovo prison's "fifth" wing has been reopened after being renovated to provide space for another 100 inmates, Directorate for Execution of Sanctions head Aleksandar Pandov told a press conference Thursday.

According to Pandov, the wing was completely renovated in less than a month. New mattresses have been provided for the second-hand beds, he said, and more room has been made to transfer inmates from two overcrowded wings.

The building housing the so-called fifth wing was built in 1946. It was shuttered in 2019 over inhumane conditions by order of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

"The previous VMRO-DPMNE government had started an enormous reconstruction project and, in its first phase, had built open and semi-open wings and put them into use in 2019," Pandov said.

"In the second phase, by 2023, we should have built a completely new closed prison. Unfortunately, the previous government did nothing and the fifth wing was closed," he added.

Prison warden Zoran Jovanovski said the renovation had been funded by donations. mr/