Overcrowding and poor conditions in Romania’s prisons will see thousands of inmates released early regardless of the crimes they have committed.

Last month, 530 inmates were released including 33 murderers, 47 rapists and two paedophiles after a new law came into force that shaves six days off every inmate’s sentence for every 30 days they spend behind bars in the EU country’s “inhumane and degrading” prisons.

A further 3,500 prisoners have become eligible for parole this month because of reductions in their sentences, with an estimated 8,000 in total expected to benefit from the new law in the first year alone, raising fears of the threat some convicts may pose to the public.

According to local reports, a man who was released a year early from a 10-year rape sentence robbed and sexually assaulted a woman in Bucharest four days after walking free.

Earlier this year the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) criticised Romania’s prison conditions after four inmates lodged complaints about overcrowding, unsanitary facilities, poor food and the presence of rats.

In April the court, which is not an EU body but part of the 56-state Council of Europe, told Romania it needed to provide a plan to improve its prisons.