When former Czechoslovakia abolished the death penalty in 1990, were the condemned then given life sentences?
Pavel Kandrac: The last time capital punishment was carried out was in the 1980s. So when the death penalty was abolished, there was no one in prison whose sentence needed to be commuted to life imprisonment. IPS: Can life sentences be reviewed? PK: That possibility exists for any sentence in Slovakia. IPS: Have you received complaints from any lifers? PK: No, I haven’t from people sentenced to life but I have from other prisoners. When complaints are substantiated, we ask the relevant bodies to take measures to address them. But sometimes the complaints are not substantiated. For instance, once a prisoner complained about the quality of the food and after an investigation we concluded he was wrong. I personally tried a prison meal, it was very tasty. IPS: One of the bodies that used to monitor conditions of lifers here, the Helsinki Committee, has ceased operating. Is there enough advocacy for prisoners’ rights? PK: I know from my contacts with prisoners that there are NGOs interested
