Boost for prisoners’ legal rights
The glass partitions separating prisoners from their visitors will be phased out after lawyers said repeatedly that the transparent barriers hampered communication with their clients. Justice Minister Anastassis Papaligouras visited maximum-security Korydallos Prison yesterday to announce the new measure. «We made a decision which was not as easy or as simple as it might look,» he told reporters. The minister said that security in prison visiting areas would have to be stepped up as a result of the move. However, Papaligouras said that removing the glass partitions was a necessary move to «upgrade the quality of justice in our country» and to «strengthen the rights of every prisoner.» The Athens Bar Association (ABA) welcomed the measure, saying in a statement that it was the only way prisoners could feel confident that their lawyers were preparing their defense properly. The ABA added that the Constitution defended suspects’ rights to prepare their defense freely.
