Update 1.20pm
An inmate asked the prison authorities to transfer him to an air-conditioned division or allow him to buy a portable air conditioner, as the unbearable heat in his cell was causing his medical condition to get worse.
The inmate, who suffers from sleep apnoea and must wear a mask throughout the night, said the high temperatures in his cell are causing him “enormous stress” and his blood pressure dropped several times over the past weeks.
His plea came days after Andrew Azzopardi, the dean of the University of Malta’s social well-being faculty, called on the authorities to address the “inhumane” and “unbearable heat” in prison, which builds up in inmates’ British era-built cells during the hot summer months.
After Times of Malta highlighted the inmate's condition, it is understood that he was transferred to a 'temperature controlled division'.
In a statement backed by the NGO Caritas which works to support inmates’ well-being, the university professor said there was little ventilation in some areas of prison and called on the authorities to remedy the situation.
‘Deteriorating’
In a legal letter sent to prison director Chris Siegersma last week, the inmate’s lawyer, Yanica Barbara Sant, described her client’s cell conditions as “inhumane and degrading treatment”. She called on the prison authorities to transfer him to a division with better conditions.
Sleep apnoea is a disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts. This can disrupt sleep, leading to daytime fatigue and serious health risks, including heart disease and stroke. In severe cases, and if not properly treated, it can be fatal.
“[The cell conditions are] causing his medical condition to deteriorate to a point where he could suffer more serious and, possibly, fatal consequences,” the legal letter reads.
Siegersma told Times of Malta last week that the prison management provided electric fans for all inmates and improved the ventilation system in inmates’ cells as part of ongoing works to address the summer heat.
Barbara Sant confirmed her client does have a fan in his cell, but, given the prevailing high temperatures, the fan was hardly of any help.
“Considering his medical condition, [the inmate] is asking to be transferred to a prison division that is air-conditioned or, at least, to be given permission to buy a portable air conditioner out of his own pocket,” she told the prison boss.
When contacted, Siegersma told Times of Malta he would not comment on the specific case or divulge how the facility will deal with his request. That information cannot be shared, he said.
The prison director insisted, however, that the issue has improved over the years.
“Previously, only those who could afford, or had a fan donated to them, had access to one within their cell or dormitory. Last year, it was decided that the Correctional Services Agency would provide fans to everyone who did not already have one,” he said. Temperature control devices were also installed in most of the dormitories that experienced the highest temperatures.
Inmates’ well-being is a priority to the prison management, Siegersma added.
This is not the first time that excessive heat in prison has turned into a controversial bone of contention. The issue arises practically every year in summer, with activists advocating the installation of air conditioning in all cells.