Long-term visitor room
As a long-term visitors' room (colloquially often cuddle cell are called) in Austrian prisons those premises designated in which prisoners can stay for family visits. Serious criminals are excluded from the use of these cells, as are those inmates who are already enjoying other types of relaxation.
Long-term visitor rooms already exist in the prisons in Vienna-Favoriten , Leoben , Stein , Suben , Wels and the prisons in Schwarzau . While there are hardly any requests for long-term visits in some prisons, 88 approved meetings were recorded in the Stein Prison in the first half of 2010 alone, and for this reason a second long-term visitor room was set up. The long-term visitor rooms were created based on models from Switzerland , Slovenia and the Ukraine .
Legal situation
"To regulate important personal, economic or legal matters that can neither be dealt with in writing nor postponed until release, as well as to maintain family and other personal ties, the prisoners are given the opportunity to receive visits in suitable rooms in appropriate frequency and duration, if necessary also outside of visiting hours. Monitoring of such visits can be dispensed with, provided there are no concerns. "
Since the amendment to the penal system in 1993, Paragraph 93 (2) has existed in Austria in its current form, which guarantees prisoners a special room for long-term visits. The problem was first discussed in 2001, when a murderer and robber who had been sentenced to life imprisonment from the Graz-Karlau prison went to the Supreme Court with an application for permission to have sexual contacts with his wife. Although the application was rejected in the last instance, the establishment of a special room in the Leoben Prison was planned and implemented. In principle, an application must be submitted to the General Directorate for the Execution of Prisons and the Execution of Measures Depriving of Custody, which is usually approved after an examination.
criticism
In the public, the so-called "cuddle cells" often cause criticism because it is assumed that these are rooms that are mainly used for sexual intercourse . This criticism is strictly rejected by the Federal Ministry of Justice . Official broadcasts speak of the main objective of rehabilitating prisoners. In addition, the long-term visitor rooms are intended to preserve family structures.
Criticism of a completely different kind also comes from the prison directors, some of whom also oppose the establishment of long-term visitor rooms. In most cases there is a lack of infrastructural facilities for setting up these rooms, which is why the prison management often argues that there are no prisoners in the prison in question who are subject to the relevant regulations.
literature
- Newspaper articles. In: Salzburger Nachrichten , May 6, 2006; on the subject of the "Kuschelzelle" project .
Web links
- Inquiry response (PDF; 54 kB) from Justice Minister Claudia Bandion-Ortner on the subject of communication with the outside world - opportunities to visit .
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Cuddle Cell" opened . ORF Lower Austria, March 27, 2007.
- ↑ Yvonne Widler: A castle for criminal women. In: Courier . January 22, 2018, accessed January 22, 2018 .
- ↑ Sandra Ramsauer-Hofer: 2. "Kuschelzelle" for Stein Prison . ( Memento from June 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) kurier.at
