An employee failed to manage the requests made by inmates and, among other things, answered inmates on a post-it note without a signature. In the decision, the Parliamentary Ombudsman stresses the importance of carrying out, in every individual case, a thorough assessment of whether a request can be handled on the basis of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service’s service obligations or whether it is a formal matter. Furthermore, the Parliamentary Ombudsman recalls that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service should be generous in permitting conversations between an inmate and a lawyer who is assisting the inmate with a legal matter and that such a conversation can be of an urgent nature.

Der ursprünglich für den 11. Januar 2024 angesetzte Ortstermin des Bundestagspetitionsausschusses in Altenmarkt an der Alz – es geht dabei um Planungsschritte einer Ortsumfahrung – wird wegen des Arbeitskampfes bei der Deutschen Bahn und der Protestwoche der Landwirte abgesagt und auf einen späteren Zeitpunkt verschoben. 

Die Anreise und der reibungslose Ablauf vor Ort sind derzeit nicht sicherzustellen.

(zur Sachlage s.: https://www.bundestag.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/2024/pm-240103-ortstermin-peta-984886)

Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva asked Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov to inform her about the conclusions of the MoI Inspectorate’s investigation assigned to examine what caused the death of a citizen, Plamen Penev, when he was arrested by police officers from the Ministry’s Regional Directorate in Stara Zagora on 30 December 2023.

4 January 2024

Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva asked Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov to inform her about the conclusions of the MoI Inspectorate’s investigation assigned to examine what caused the death of a citizen, Plamen Penev, when he was arrested by police officers from the Ministry’s Regional Directorate in Stara Zagora on 30 December 2023.

The Ombudsman pointed out what the media had reported, viz. that the man disobeyed a police order and that patrol cars chased him downtown where Penev’s vehicle crashed.

“Eyewitnesses of the car accident had their video recordings broadcast on national media and these show several police officers who are trying to open the door where the driver’s seat is of the crashed motor vehicle that the individual in question had been driving while a policeman is trying to break open the windows with kicks. The recordings show that after Plamen Penev was taken out of the car, the police officers knocked him down on the ground to arrest him. It has been proved that Plamen Penev was alive when he was moved out from the vehicle, and that his was a violent death after the police officers resorted to force to take him out. The forensic medical examination assigned indicates, as of now, mechanical asphyxiation (suffocation) as a possible cause, inter alia, for the death. The circumstances as described give reasonable grounds to assume that the man’s death might have been caused by police violence. Moreover, the footage shows at least five police officers around the body of the arrested man,” Prof. Kovacheva wrote.

Further, she recalled that at a news conference the Director of the MoI Regional Directorate in Stara Zagora said that when the driver was taken out of the car to be handcuffed, he suffered convulsions and died and that this does not concur with the initially disseminated information that Penev died of injuries sustained in the traffic accident. The Ombudsman added that on 2 January 2024 the District Prosecutor’s Office in Stara Zagora confirmed that the death was caused by the violence when the police officers pulled the man out of the car.

“I would like to emphasize, in keeping with the Ministry of Interior Act (MoIA), that physical force and auxiliary means shall be used by police officers as a last resort which shall be resorted to only when this is absolutely necessary. Pursuant to Art. 86 MoIA the use of physical force and auxiliary means shall take into consideration the specific circumstances, the nature of the public order violation and the identity of the offender. The police authorities shall use only such force, as is absolutely necessary. In using physical force and auxiliary means, the police authorities must take all measures for protecting the life and health of the targets. The use of physical force and auxiliary means shall be terminated immediately after achieving its lawful objective,” the Ombudsman emphasized.

On this tragic case, the Ombudsman asks the Minister four concrete questions:

Diana Kovacheva wants to know whether there was an abuse of power and whether disproportionate police force was resorted to by the police officers of the Ministry’s Regional Directorate in Stara Zagora in the arrest of Plamen Penev.

The Ombudsman wants to know whether the police officers on site secured emergency medical aid when it became evident that after being taken out of the vehicle, the citizen showed worrying symptoms – convulsions. She wants to know how many of the police officers on site have attended emergency medical aid courses and trainings and whether the Stara Zagora emergency medical service center has been called and if it has been, how long it took the ambulance vehicle to respond and arrive upon the scene.

Queja número 23/4228

La persona interesada nos expone que tiene en acogimiento familiar permanente a un menor desde febrero de 2022, siendo así que en la resolución por la que se constituye el acogimiento familiar se establece un régimen de visitas con su madre y hermanos, previendo también la posibilidad de que fuese visitado por su abuela paterna, aunque con las previsiones y cautelas que advierte el Ente Público de la comunidad autónoma en la que aquella reside (Cataluña).

Se dirige a esta Institución porque sin previo aviso y sin consultarles se ha establecido un régimen de visitas con la abuela paterna, lo cual consideran una vulneración de sus derechos como familia de acogida.

Por lo expuesto admitimos la queja a trámite y solicitamos informe de la Delegación Territorial de Inclusión Social, Juventud, Familias e Igualdad en Sevilla.

Recibimos informe de la Delegación Territorial del que se ha de resaltar el reconocimiento de dicha administración pública de ciertas deficiencias en cuanto a la información que se les debió trasmitir como familia de acogida del menor, en lo relativo a las visitas reconocidas a la familia extensa, hecho sobre el que se anuncia la intención de que tal accidente no se vuelva a repetir en el futuro.

Por otro lado, en lo relativo a los motivos que justifican la decisión de autorizar la relación del menor con su familia extensa señalamos que se encuentran avalados por los informes técnicos que constan en el expediente de protección, sin que advirtamos en dicha decisión ninguna vulneración de derechos que pudiera motivar nuestra intervención, por lo que procede que demos por concluida nuestra intervención en el caso.

In May 2020, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen criticised the Administrative Court in Malmö for the slow processing of a case involving occupational injury insurance and a so-called dental case. In August 2021, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen directed criticism towards the Administrative Court for the slow processing of two cases regarding sickness benefit and one case on culling. In the latter decision, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen observed that the court had continued its efforts to address processing times and that the situation in December 2020 had improved somewhat. However, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen were of the view that the processing times for several case categories, particularly social security cases, were still too long, and gave cause for concern.

In this decision, the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman once again directs criticism towards the Administrative Court for the slow processing of a case. The processing time for the case, which concerned personal assistance under the Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (“LSS”), amounted to one year and nine months. According to the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, this was an unacceptably long time.

The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman observes that the Administrative Court has continued to take measures to address processing times in general, and in LSS and social security cases (among others) in particular. The number of pending cases also decreased between September 2022 and June 2023.

According to the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, the processing times the court has now reported for the period June 2022 to May 2023 are still too long for several case categories. The turnaround times have also increased compared with 2020 for several types of cases. The situation is therefore still worrying, in the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman’s view. He therefore emphasises the importance of continuing the work to achieve shorter processing times and fewer pending cases, and of follow-up taking place continuously.

The decision is submitted to the Parliament, the Government and the National Courts Administration for information.