Borobudur Law and Society Journal

The right of detainees and prisoners to health services is guaranteed by Law No. 22 of 2022 on Corrections, yet prisons struggle to fulfil it where inmate numbers far exceed capacity. Magelang Class IIA Prison, with a capacity of 221, has held more than twice that number in every year from 2018 to 2022. This study examines how the right is implemented at the prison, how far the services meet the applicable standards, and which obstacles prevent full compliance. It is empirical legal research with a legal-sociology approach, based on observation and unstructured interviews at the prison in October 2022 to January 2023, supported by analysis of statutes, regulations and the Nelson Mandela Rules. The prison provides promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services, a polyclinic, referral and cooperation agreements, and was named a pilot prison for health services. It meets the minimum staffing and referral rules and the admission-screening standard, but has no psychologist, psychiatrist or nutritionist, only about IDR 20,000 per inmate per month for health, too few isolation rooms and weak hygiene awareness. The right is therefore not yet fully fulfilled. Staffing norms, a per-inmate health budget and a plan to reduce overcapacity require national decisions, while hygiene supervision and medicine control can be improved by the prison itself.