Ombudsman: Estonian Prisons Must Engage More with Inmates at Risk of Suicide

Ombudsman Ülle Madise believes prison staff must ensure daily monitoring and meaningful contact for inmates experiencing suicidal thoughts. She has again stressed the need to establish secure calming cells in prisons and introduce tear-resistant bedding. Since September 2024, five people have died in Estonian prisons, three of them by suicide.

Ombudsman Ülle Madise has drawn attention to serious shortcomings in how Estonian prisons handle inmates at risk of suicide. In her assessment, prison staff and medical specialists working there must better consider how to ensure daily monitoring and meaningful contact with individuals placed in solitary confinement who are experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Contact through a food slot is insufficient

Madise cited the analysis of one suicide case, in which an inmate who had recently arrived at the prison and been placed in solitary confinement had too little contact. The Ombudsman stressed that according to international detention standards, individuals in solitary confinement must be guaranteed at least two hours of meaningful contact per day, and this must occur directly, without physical barriers-contact through a food slot does not meet the requirements.

"The Ombudsman has long been drawing prisons' attention to the need to pay special attention to individuals held in solitary confinement," said Madise, adding that such contact must make it possible to establish human and empathetic connection.

Tear-resistant bedding and calming cells

The Ombudsman noted that prisons should introduce tear-resistant bedding. The need for this is illustrated by a tragic case in which an inmate used strips of bedding torn from the side to attempt suicide. Madise has emphasized the need for calming cells for two years, since she sent a corresponding letter to the Justice Ministry.

In addition, the Ombudsman drew attention to observations from internal prison inspections, which showed that guards conducted hourly inspection rounds irregularly or with insufficient attention. In one case, the death of a person in a video-monitored cell was only discovered several hours later.

Five deaths since September 2024

Since September 2024, five people have died in Estonian prisons: three took their own lives, and two died from health problems. In addition, a person was found dead in a service vehicle that had been driven onto prison grounds, whom law enforcement officers had been transporting to a sobering-up facility.

According to Madise, ensuring daily monitoring and meaningful contact can help identify dangerous situations in time and prevent the most severe consequences.