Inmates Learn Family News Through Public SMS Messages

Inmates serving sentences at the Sarajevo Penal Correctional Facility have an unusual form of communication with their spouses, family members, and friends, writes the BH News Agency Patria.

It is known that inmates cannot possess mobile phones, and calls from the prison phone are also limited. Visits are restricted and can last from one to three hours, depending on the type of visit.

Thus, every day in the afternoon, what they did not manage to say during phone calls is communicated via SMS messages within the music program of Radio-Television Vogošća. Family members and friends write about what is happening, what the news is, what they are doing in their cases, along with a mandatory music request.

For example, one inmate learned that the family dog had disappeared but was found. Another was informed that his son had a tooth extracted. A third learned that a package was coming his way, and a fourth's wife informed him not to go out because it was cold.