Justice chancellor urges better prison suicide prevention after inmate deaths
After recent deaths exposed gaps in the system, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise called for stronger suicide prevention in 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 mroe 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.
Resources and support available
If you find yourself in crisis, are having suicidal thoughts or are otherwise struggling, help is available.
In case of emergency, call 112.
On-call psychiatric care can also be reached by phone 24/7 in Tallinn at +372 617 2650, in Tartu at +372 731 8764 and in Pärnu at +372 447 3281.
The Eluliin emotional support hotline is open daily from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. in Estonian (+372 655 8088) and in Russian (+372 655 5688).
Another emotional support hotline is available every day from 10 a.m. to midnight in Estonian, Russian and English at 116 123.
The Ohvriabi victim support hotline is available 24/7 in Estonian, Russian and English at 116 006.
The child helpline is also open 24/7 in Estonian, Russian and English at 116 111.
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Editor: Märten Hallismaa, Aili Vahtla
