Chancellor of Justice Urges Better Prison Suicide Prevention After Inmate Deaths

Following recent deaths that exposed gaps in the system, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise called for stronger suicide prevention in Estonian prisons, urging more humane contact and monitoring.

Madise reiterated her long-standing recommendation that prisons establish safe calming rooms and use tear-resistant bedsheets as part of safer institutional design in detention facilities.

She pointed to an internal analysis of one prison suicide that determined that a newly arrived suicidal inmate placed in a locked cell was left too isolated by staff.

International detention standards, the justice chancellor noted, call for people in solitary confinement to be offered at least two hours a day of meaningful interaction.

"That contact should be direct, without physical barriers (i.e. not through a food hatch), allowing for humane, empathetic interaction," she emphasized.

Madise also urged prisons and prison medical staff to reassess how they regularly monitor suicidal inmates and those in solitary confinement, saying more consistent attention and meaningful interaction "could help detect [warning signs] and prevent the gravest outcomes."

An internal prison audit cited by the chancellor of justice found guards did not always conduct hourly rounds consistently or thoroughly. In one case, a person in a video-monitored cell was found dead several hours later.

In a 12-month period beginning September 2024, Estonian prisons recorded five deaths, including three deaths by suicide and two linked to health conditions.

In an additional case, a detainee transported to prison property by police for a sobriety hold was found dead inside the police bus upon arrival.