Behind Bars: The World’s Toughest Prisons - Sofia Central Prison, Bulgaria | Free Documentary

a different world everybody out on the fence [Music] [Applause] [Music] with its own rules often justice in their own hands zero tolerance back to yourselves gangs [Music] violence and harassment i did it to make it tough and inhumane conditions [Music] all this behind bars in the world's toughest prisons [Music] derelict decayed a condemned building this isn't a condemned building it's the biggest and most certainly the toughest prison in bulgaria best way to survive bulgarian prison have no hope sofia central prison 900 prisoners hardened criminals murderers nothing to do in a prison which time seems to have forgotten 100 years after it was founded permanent stop and search relentless guards and hardened criminals at the drop of a dime the eruption of violence almost a certainty at any time the guards seem especially prone it is important to note the prisoners themselves are no angels the guards regularly find contraband self-made weapons an extreme place with extreme inmates and only one rule survival of the fittest if the other inmates notice a weakness they'll eat you alive this is sofia central prison one of the world's toughest prisons sofia bulgaria's capital a country on the very edge of europe a country that until recent history was behind the iron curtain bulgaria has a population of approximately 7 million people with unofficially more than 2 million living in sofia this is a capital like no other in europe it is a city of extremes where rich meets poor dirt poor in a member country of the european union too many struggle to get by on a daily basis just beyond the chic cafes and boutiques in the city centre the ghettos ghettos with no sewage system or electricity horse carts instead of cars neglected neighborhoods choking and filth and garbage often the only option crime the roma live here the poorest of the poor according to eu estimates they make up approximately 10 of bulgaria's population in the middle of these extremes sofia central prison fortress-like the foreboding building houses the largest and most notorious prison in the country behind thick walls rusty fences and endless rolls of barbed wire approximately 900 prisoners from all over bulgaria served sentences ranging from five years to life 10 a.m warden taiko venkov begins his shift he is the commander of the day shift like many colleagues at central prison he is a former soldier all the guards on duty in the eight different prison stations are under his command these are the guards who keep bulgaria's most dangerous criminals in check is starting his 24-hour shift in the command center this is the operational management area of the prison like most of the furnishings even parts of the surveillance equipment are from the communist era retro like this old tube screen taiko venkoff uses to observe critical areas of the prison after his military service venkov begins as a simple guard he takes the long road to become shift supervisor and after 28 hard years commander of the guards at the notorious sofia central prison established over 100 years ago neglected for decades behind the main building the prison yard and numerous barracks even from the air the building's dilapidated state is clearly visible in a country ridden by crime and corruption there is barely money left to invest in penal institutions noticeable everywhere 11am the main building the prisoners bring their clothes to the prison laundry a rare highlight for the inmates a stress situation for the guards as something as innocuous as laundry day can escalate into something more sinister any incidents everything normal all quiet in this tract okay the men who don't have laundry day use the time to stretch their legs outside the cells like a tiger in a cage the inmates walk back and forth a rare enough occasion because the next lock-up will come quickly like now a call from the command center head count and lockup you guys have to wait as soon as the alarm sounds all inmates return to their cells as fast as possible whoever disregards orders more on that later the guards do not enter the area until it is completely clear and all inmates are in their cells they never turn their backs on a loose prisoner it would be foolish to turn your back on over 100 convicted felons without warning a prisoner on the loose in the middle of the hallway showing off this could take a turn for the worse luckily for the guards the inmate decides to retreat into his cell throughout the years strict law and order paired with discipline has ruled in the prison in sophia we will never ease up on these provisions it has never happened [Music] behind grumbling walls and rusty barbed wire approximately 900 felons serving sentences of between five years to life among those felons all foreigners who were convicted in bulgaria traumatized refugees among them before coming in bulgar i don't know the prison here if i know i never come a brutal place inter-prisoner violence diy weapons finding new hiding places for their illegal contraband but why are the prisoners arming themselves 10 guards 15 guards 20 guards beating one prisoner or two prisoners all this happening within the european union at sofia central prison in the middle of the capital in the midst of a torn country a place where only the strongest the toughest and the most brutal survive a prison where no european prisoner wants to be why not only is it desolate derelict and filthy but because of the prison's use of solitary confinement while international human rights organizations are rallying against this inhumane treatment this buried alive confinement is still common practice in sofia central prison the prison has four floors in the area that we see here on the first floor we have the pre-trial detention centers and they are completely isolated isolation cells anyone who breaks the rules ends up here isolated behind rusty bars for the next days or even weeks with almost no natural light the second floor is also for pre-trial detainees these rooms are completely isolated from the outside world almost the entire wing is comprised of isolation and arrest cells if you were a convicted felon on the fourth floor you won't be leaving it anytime soon [Music] on the fourth floor the prisoners of the so-called group seven are housed these are the ones that have already received their verdicts so they are currently serving their sentences and they are all repeat offenders there the prisoners both hate and fear this part of the prison the first second and fourth floors of this wing are notorious here you are completely cut off from the other inmates we are not allowed access with our cameras [Music] the wing with the isolation cells is part of the main building the t-shape extends across the front of the prison grounds where all the wings meet in the middle at the prison tower first and second floor investigative custody and solitary confinement and group cells third floor grouped attention for convicted prisoners fourth floor the feet facility is over a century old painfully obvious at every turn all prison tracts end at the so-called prison tower safety nets between floors are supposed to prevent murders and suicides there have been several incidents inmates trying to kill themselves or each other the entire prison complex seems like from a distant past every technical device hopelessly outdated here the new arrivals get their pictures taken and information recorded by hand long hair is a paradise for lice and fleas in sofia central prison that's why a newbie entering the facility with long hair gets a haircut in old communist conditions and these conditions most certainly exist in the cells too because even if our cameras often have to stay outside secretly made videos circulate the internet documenting how the prisoners really live in derelict cells [Music] under appalling sanitary conditions how tough is it on the inside an ex-inmate knows [Music] ex-con hamza he was inside sofia central for six years six years that have taken its toll [Music] i'm not really sure i want to do this it's overwhelming just the thought of going back for the first time since his release from prison six months ago the 44 year old german who was convicted of drug smuggling returns to his worst nightmare this is what it looks like from the outside yeah until his release hamza had only known these walls from the inside now as a free man he stands safe and secure on the outside but still cannot hide his trepidation being this close i know this guy hamza had to serve his entire sentence in bulgaria every foreigner convicted in bulgaria ends up in sofia central prison oh man not much has changed it hasn't been that long when you ask hamza what was the worst thing about this prison he doesn't know where to start nine people crammed into 130 square feet three bunks on top of each other [Music] some of the prisoners cover the ceiling with plastic to avoid having the water drip onto the bed during the winter of the 24 hours of a day maybe one hour is warm people aren't worth anything in here eu regulation states in the european prison rules each inmate must have at least four square meters 43 square feet bulgaria doesn't care barely 20 square feet per inmate in sofia central prison that's less than half commander taiko venkov's tour takes him to one of the barracks foreigners are housed here just like hamza six months ago it is the newest building built in the 1950s but like all the other buildings it is completely run down the foreign prisoners know their rights as opposed to the locals and they also know conditions at home are much more humane than here one reason this cell block belongs to the better ones which doesn't do much for their popularity among the officers and other inmates before we are allowed to speak with the prisoners there is a discussion between the guards and the inmates a few minutes pass before the prison door opens to reveal the inside of a cell the guards are nervous reluctantly they make way for us eight inmates can be held in this cell jackpot freeman is one of them the australian was backpacking through europe when one fateful night on a bulgarian street he tried to help someone chuck says he tried to help aroma attacked by neo-nazis they were beating one man because he had dark skin and i went to defend this man the group of 15 then attacked me i pulled out a knife and held it above my head and was shouting at them to to leave me alone and they uh continued attacking me and they knocked me out after about 10 minutes one of the neo-nazis was killed and i was convicted for his murder not only do i not remember if i was the one who killed this neo-nazi or not but it's not been proven or confirmed by anybody jock's account cannot be corroborated but if it's true then it's hard to fathom according to jock the prisoners in sofia central prison are beaten regularly by the guards it's for hours and hours on end it's 10 guards 15 guards 20 guards beating one prisoner or two prisoners they're separated from the other prisoners normally and then after beating them they keep them locked in separate rooms try to isolate them from help from lawyers the anti-torture committee of the european union has repeatedly urged bulgaria to prevent violence and arbitrariness against prisoners according to jock mistreatment and abuse continues 40 guards came running into that room room number 11 and started beating everybody in there and they were in their beds at the time so they were sleeping in their beds the guards came and started being them with batons uh with their boots and uh beating them with their with their fists the irony of this place is this is maybe the only prison in europe where they had to put security cameras in the prison because of the guards not because of the prisoners the human rights organization bulgarian helsinki committee claimed in 2015 in sofia central prison alone two recent cases of prisoner abuse by guards gained publicity in one of the cases several officers severely beat inmates even though they were not resisting officers commands the law says guards may use force to control the prison the way they interpret that is we can use force to terrorize the prison and through terror we will control the prison and that's why this prison is so hard outside the prison walls ex-prisoner hamza remembers the abuse by prison guards like jacques he agrees these attacks on prisoners are rampant and appear to be part of an agenda if one of the gods takes a swing the others join in they have no choice they want to show their rule in my opinion they have no idea about the law hamza also claims to have been a victim of the guard's sadistic physical abuse the guard locked the cell then knocked all gratuitous and systematic abuse on a large scale against the inmates but according to hamza some guards have no self-control one of the guards got off on hurting inmates it made him feel good this had a good guitar in europe's toughest prison if you speak with the other side the situation is completely different commander trico venkov sees it as his most important task to ensure strict discipline inside the cells and outside in the prison yard behind fences and wire any unusual situation constitutes a threat trajeco venkov also reports of attacks but have prisoners against the guards an escape attempt gone horribly wrong is said to have happened six months ago an occupant of the 12th group attacked one of the guards the prisoner was able to overpower the guard and then tried to escape during the altercation he inflicted a stab wound and a gash on the guards left arm and shoulder the prisoner was arrested again guards and prisoners seem to have engaged in a sort of guerrilla warfare for years now but since a new director came on board in sofia central prison the crackdown on abusive guards has been significant this has been confirmed by inmates but according to the guards the largest conflict potential comes from the prisoners especially during the daily 90-minute yard time venkov says these 90 minutes are the greatest source of potential danger which is why inmates are separated through fences this is the most dangerous area of the prison if more than 50 inmates come together there is always a potential danger many of the inmates at notorious sofia central prison display behavioral problems while some react with aggression and violence others isolate themselves completely each detainee reacts differently to harsh prison conditions [Music] some prisoners are very introverted they have no contact with other inmates in the group and rarely emerge from their cells there are some prisoners who haven't been outside their cells for years they have phobias and panic attacks ex-inmate hamza has no doubt where these problems come from he himself experienced how the hierarchy works within prison walls power reigns at the top fear at the bottom white bulgarians are at the very top and they are usually racist the roma the gypsies are the geishas let me put it like that um they have them clean their cells tidy up send them on errands and show it their personal slaves when behind it you can show no fear otherwise life behind the crumbling walls of bulgaria's most notorious prison quickly becomes a living hell inmate stanislav knows what that means the repeat offender belongs to the tough guys he knows sofia central prison and its harsh hierarchy like the inside of his pocket currently the 39 year old is serving a 15-year sentence for murder with robbery he has three more years to go [Music] the 12 years he has served so far have turned him into a loner and the target of the other prisoners hate which is why stanislav does not participate in the common 90-minute yard time he is considered unstable and has behavioral problems [Music] stanislav uses the time in one of the courtyard cages to do what seems to make the most sense preparing for whatever may come [Music] he wants to be prepared for anything and everything he is convinced this tactic will save him if they see that you are weak they'll eat you alive they use this weakness against you and start bullying you that's why you always have to be strong tough and aggressive one thing that stanislav has learned behind bars here in sofia it's best to be a lone wolf in this prison it's not like in other countries where the inmates are divided into gangs it's every man for himself here you're on your own there's no strong gang whose members support you and have your back it's every man for himself the hierarchy and sofia central prison some are on top most are at the bottom symbolic and reflective of bulgarian society according to critical eu reports the country has been ripped to shreds by corruption and crime even years after joining the eu [Music] and so the super-rich bulgarians find all the status symbols and luxury items they could ever want in chic boutiques while those who at the bottom like the roma have to beg for pennies and food scraps a conflict situation where violence and crime thrive for years bulgaria has led statistics for the most contract killings within the eu asserting oneself fighting and getting by violence even behind bars works for most prisoners i was stabbed in the neck once mostly inmates fight each other with homemade weapons inducing commander taiko venkoff and his team of guards to do searches of cells and inmates often without warning the prisoners themselves see the procedure as part of the harassment as well as the continuous arbitrary lock-ups the guard's successful measures bolster the methods again and again they find contraband during the raids like clubs and sticks self-made weaponry to stab and cut commander venkov inspects some of the seized items in their cells the prisoners have a lot of time to make their deadly weapons and hide them take this dresser for example a relatively safe place to hide not only weapons but also mobile phones or drugs here in the back there is an additional partition which has been installed parallel to this partition the actual drawer ends here but the inmates install another hidden drawer by extending it backwards if the controlling officer checks the closet he will only see this first compartment the back remains hidden the inmates hide all sorts of illegal items in there that's why we've taken it away if the guards find contraband then it's off to the feared isolation tract the prisoners disappear behind these rusty grates hamza the ex-convict knows solitary confinement but only as a visitor as a professional locksmith he helped with repairs a way to shorten his sentence despite it being in the feared isolation cells you get solitary confinement if you're caught with a cell phone or drugs or if you get into a fight and of course if you have a knife that's when you go directly into isolation for between seven and fourteen days a seven to fourteen day sentence in isolation if a prisoner gets caught but there are also inmates who spend their entire life sentences in isolation locked away for 23 of 24 hours each day in isolation you get an hour outside the cell from 8 30 to 9 30 you get to walk around inside this cage you aren't allowed to go into the general yard detention and solitary confinement can be very traumatic here in sofia central prison in the middle of a european capital in europe probably one of the toughest prisons on the continent hold up murderer and repeat falun stanislav has been in solitary confinement more than once i was there mainly because of fights once because i had a cell phone so fights and cell phones and once they planted drugs someone slipped them in my pocket other prisoners who hate me wanted to plant drugs on me so i was sent to isolation not only the cells themselves but the hallways offer no daylight and are sealed off and if there is a chance for company it's usually pretty rough there is water the isolation cells are in the same wing where the inmates doing life are located if you're not here for murder but are caught between murders it messes with your head very few prisoners can handle this environment many slit their wrists or hang themselves some prefer to die than be in isolation the whole time even stanislav one of the toughest here reached to desperate measures [Music] i was in isolation a lot i it was a high price but for stanislav it was worth it sophia central prison a place where only the strongest survive show a weakness you become a victim innocent refugees between felons before coming in bulgar i don't know the prison here if i know i never come not enough food to fill your stomach [Music] and the separate class of prisoners with privileges in the horror prison of sofia more on that soon the day is coming to an end in the prison yard inmates are walking back toward the main building stanislav has finished his workout too the other prisoners hate him maybe because of his nazi tattoos i'm a supporter of the aryan brotherhood and that is their symbol cloverleaf and swastika that's common in u.s prisons and i'm a fans in bulgaria stanislav won't win a popularity contest with right-wing symbols like that upstairs in the prison most of the inmates are of roma origin my nickname here is the german because that's my nickname and i have swastikas tattooed on my body the roma think that i'm a nazi and that i hate them that's where all my problems come from bulgaria many inmates from a roma background foreigners nazis criminals locked in together in one of the world's toughest prisons and to the mix seemingly bored prison guards who behind the scenes can set their own standards of cruelty a completely run-down prison system with the heat or electricity on for sometimes only an hour during the day and atrocious sanitary conditions [Music] a volatile mix [Music] especially for people who have come here more or less by accident completely unprepared and for the most part innocent like refugees rasheed and hamza from afghanistan smugglers brought them to the bulgarian border there the police arrested them ironclad judgment four years prison for illegally crossing the border the first when i came here sir i was in eight group there was all the bulgarians and they beat us because we don't know they said like one of them says i'm i'm killer i killed somebody yes i'm just i'm chief i'm this i'm this the they beat us and they're cleaning the floor from us and the washed off toilets hey you have to do because they know they are refugee we are normal sometimes afraid sometimes yeah i think that's not good sir it's not good normal person is different to high criminals as psychology is not good sir and the conditions very tough of course because no good food no electricity for 24 hours if they would have known what awaited them they would have stayed in their war-torn country the situation is difficult i've been injured for six months and i'm in pain but the doctor could not help me here isolation is really getting to me government don't put us again in in in prison if they don't want us here please send us back in afghanistan before coming in bulgar i don't know the prison here if i know i never come refugees who would rather return to their war-torn country of afghanistan and staying one more day in this prison it gives us an idea how tough and relentless sofia's central prison is all foreign convicts end up in sofia central prison no matter where they committed their crimes in bulgaria no matter how small the crime [Music] only the worst of bulgarian nationals on the other hand are sent here anything from five years to life robbers rapists murderers [Music] like nevkoff 37 years old 20 years sentence for attempted murder of two police officers is this really his cell or was it switched for our camera crew nevkov has completely withdrawn into himself the separation from his partner and daughter has taken a terrible toll i'm lucky that my girlfriend is waiting for me that only happens once in a million times visits of relatives are allowed only twice a month a glass pane separates the inmates from their loved ones touching impossible relationships are hard to sustain many of the prisoners here have been abandoned by the outside world they don't have anyone anymore the only thing nivkoff can do is hope that his girlfriend is prepared to wait 20 years one of the very few reliefs of prison life meal time the few helpers who distribute the food are searched repeatedly before entering the station the menu for this evening once again is soup with bread the guards check the bowls carefully because the prisoners could smuggle contraband between the stations [Music] many of the men go to bed hungry after this beggars type meal [Music] an inmate can count himself lucky if relatives and friends supply him with extra food although there are no refrigerators or stoves to repair anything [Music] it seems as if not even a small modicum of independence is allowed the day in sofia central prison ends after meal time [Music] and the next day begins like all the other days before it stretching your legs behind bars killing time and looking forward to the prison yard in one of the toughest prisons in the world in a country that is part of the eu but does not implement the guidelines of the union for its penal system a prison where every inmate has less than two square meters of space to live and where inter-prisoner violence is endemic and guards allegedly harass the prisoners on a regular basis in the foreigners cell block a man has been fighting for the rights of inmates for more than eight years when it comes to describing the conditions in bulgaria's horror jail the australian jack paul freeman does not mince his words this prison is so tough because to survive here either you have to be psychologically strong or insane or you go insane in jacques eyes it is primarily the lack of perspective that makes this prison one of the toughest in the world in western european prisons you have activity you have daily activity you go to work you you have school you have education here the majority of prisoners 90 of them are locked in their wings all day every day for years and years on end and the other 10 they belong to an elite minority inhabiting a comfortable parallel universe within prison walls there's no there's no gangs in bulgarian prisons but there absolutely is a hierarchy absolutely foreigners are kind of at the lowest lowest on the turtle pole then then roma one tier above us and then white bulgarians are on the top of the totem pole the guards simplifiers with the white bulgarian prisoners while the rest of the prisoners vegetate between cell and station the white bulgars use a modern and well-equipped boxing gem the majority of these prisoners belong to organized crime trafficking pimping and extortion are the major offenses here zlatko is one of them we wonder what he did on the outside you want from somebody to pay for something you don't know he don't want or something like that i know how to explain english but extortion i think is the the word hearing something like that in the boxing gym the inmates are preparing for their time after prison supported by former bulgarian boxing champions who volunteered to train this elite group of prisoners [Music] after all exercise is important for harmonious coexistence if so many men are locked together in one place there is of course aggression and violence therefore it is important that there are things to do like fitness painting and so on some even like going to church an extensive leisure program for repeat offenders too i was in here for the first time 10 years ago when i was much younger yes when so many men are locked together that's dangerous there are all sorts of criminals in here this is the largest prison in bulgaria after all sofia's central prison a horror jail behind crumbling walls and barbed wire [Music] disparate treatment of prisoners while the majority of prisoners enjoy 90 minutes yard time among crumbling facades as the highlight of their days another elite group enjoys extensive hobbies [Music] and innocent refugees waste away between felons in one of the world's toughest prisons john paul freeman has to tough it out another 12 years here in sofia he worries about his loved ones more than about himself [Music] my my family want me back in australia um and i think for them sometimes it's harder for them than for me because uh because i know in my mind that i'm okay even when situation is really bad perseverance stanislav wants to tough it out too with concrete goals in mind he has three more years left of the 15-year sentence he got for murder with robbery [Music] like i did before i'd like to work with motorcycles i'd like to train children in motocross commander taiko venkov and his group of wardens will continue to take decisive action with strict disciplinary measures to keep the prisoners in check permanent searches arbitrary lock-ups merciless punishment in the isolation cells this is the way commander venkoff and his team want to make better people out of criminals inside this horror jail [Music] hamza the former detainee is battling with nightmares and panic attacks [Music] i can't express it in words when i look down oh my god i don't want to go in there ever again i'm still afraid something could go wrong and they'll drag me back he wants to leave the country this evening and return to germany [Music] away from here away from the horror prison in sofia a detention center in the eu that ignores all eu rules and regulations where prisoners live on less than 20 square feet of space at the mercy of ruthless malicious brutal prison guards who make their lives a living hell away from one of the most brutal and ramshackle detention centers in the world sofia central prison one of the world's toughest prisons

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 1,509,701

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, BBC documentary, law, order, bulgaria, prison, sofia, east europe, punishment, death row, prison documentary, prison bulgaria, toughest prison, toughest prisns in the world

Id: BCqSpRq_Ads

Length: 45min 42sec (2742 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 05 2018