The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights published an overview of the results of measures undertaken in accordance with the Government of Serbia Strategy for reducing overcrowding in penal institutions in Serbia, adopted for the 2010-2015 period. This overview, which relates to the period between 2010 and June 2013, shows that the decrease in the number of prisoners that occurred since the Strategy was adopted (on 31 December 2010 there were 11.211 prisoners, while by the middle of 2013 their number dropped to approximately 10.300), can mostly be ascribed to the one-off pardon measure rather than the long-term systemic measures envisaged by the Strategy, such as measures alternative to pre-trial detention and prison sentences, as well as broader application of parole and early release. The overview, which was produced within a two year project supported by the Open Society Foundations, can be downloaded here.
