Family members who have relatives who are serving sentences are not allowed to send food parcels to prisons. With the legal changes of 2017, prisoners were denied this right. Even in the draft law on the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, approved in principle days ago, food packages are prohibited. However, the Ministry of Justice leaves open the possibility that between the two readings will include the return of food packages. Although it is an earlier practice, organizations monitoring Kosovo prisons consider that this right should be restored. Fatmire Haliti from the Kosovo Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture Survivors, says that for several years now, prisoners have been demanding the return of food packages. "Under the previous laws, the law of 2010 and 2013, it was recognized as a right and allowed prisoners to receive a food package within a month from family members. Meanwhile, with the law of 2017, when the amendment of 2013 was made, without any discussion or public reasoning, this legal provision was changed, where the prisoners were denied this right. Even at that time, in 2017, there was a revolt by all prisoners, holding various strikes and submitting various complaints", she emphasizes. She says that during the drafting of this law they sent recommendations for the return of food packages, but in the first reading this right was not included. "During the visits by institutional officials, they were promised that at the moment when the law is changed, this right will be returned to them, because it has been a constant request of the convicts. Now, with the new amendment of the draft law on Execution of Criminal Sanctions, which during the last week has passed in the first reading, the right to food packages is still not recognized to convicted persons", adds Haliti. The Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms considers that the practice of food packages is being opposed without reason, since even after their ban there has been smuggling. "This is an alibi without justification, for the fact that smuggling has never been stopped. In fact, it has been intensified, the smuggling was mainly done by the staff and those who dealt mostly with prisons. If you take a food package and it opens in front of the prisoner, it is checked if there is something forbidden then it is removed from the package. Now there are more technical possibilities than before to simply inspect everything that is forbidden not to make it inside," said the chairman of the CDHRF, Behgjet Shala. The political advisor in the Ministry of Justice, Alban Muriqi states that the draft law on executions of criminal sanctions does not include the issue of food packages for convicted persons, but he promises that this will be discussed between the two readings. "We do not know exactly how the discussions will proceed, but it is good while this possibility for this benefit for the convicts is being discussed. The Minister of Justice said that due to smuggling and combating smuggling with prohibited means and issues of public health interest, it is good that this package does not pass. However, it is given as an opportunity that if the MPs see it reasonable after the discussions that this will return to the second reading ", says Muriqi. However, the Ministry of Justice itself does not consider it reasonable to return food packages to prisoners in correctional facilities. "We have evaluated it not only by the internationals, but we also see it as a standard that is not applied much. It is an outdated practice. We can meet this need in many other ways. The Kosovo Correctional Service sees an opportunity to expand the facilities in the canteen. It has already been several years since food packages have been banned and convicts have been accustomed. We believe that it is still more reasonable not to offer this possibility because of the risks I mentioned. We do not support it in principle, but if the MP decide to restore, the minister is open to bring it back ", continues the political advisor in the MoJ. Last week, the Assembly of Kosovo approved in principle the draft law on the execution of criminal sanctions, which, among other things, mentioned the possibility of returning food packages.