Strasbourg, 22/01/2015 (Agence Europe) -The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) was set up in February 1989. On Wednesday 21 January, it published its 24th annual report.
More than 370 visits were carried out over a 25-year period, explains the text and “a certain level of maturity in terms of experience accumulated and working methods has been achieved”. It should also be noted that in addition to the methodology perfected during this period, the geographical scope of the CPT (there were 15 different areas to begin with) has been extended and the range of locations targeted expanded. In addition to prisons and police stations, there are also psychiatric hospitals, retention centres for juveniles and care institutions, as well as, the more recent addition of the follow-up of flights of returning foreign nationals after their rendition on flights abroad.
New issues have also been taken into account over time, including a particular issue the CPT is focusing on in its most recent report. It appears that several people with whom the CPT has interviewed “have apparently been intimidated or subjected to various forms of reprisals by or at the instigation of public officials”. These include solitary confinement for fabricated disciplinary or security reasons, placement in worse conditions of detention, withdrawal of support for early release, assault and other kinds of ill-treatment. The list of reprisals is long and involves Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Spain, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Ukraine.
Intimidation or retaliation against persons the CPT has interviewed may not only violate their human rights but also “strikes a blow at the preventive mechanism established by the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture”, explained Latif Hüseynov, the CPT President, who also said that the text aimed to strengthen the protection of people whose freedom has been taken away, by way of cooperation with the national authorities, rather than condemning states for their shortcomings. The CPT president therefore urged the “national authorities to respect their obligation to prevent, investigate and punish such actions”.
Further preventive measures, for example, are also advocated, such as prohibiting prison staff from recording the names of the persons interviewed. The Committee advocates the transfer of potential victims to other establishments, or reassigning members of staff to other duties, as well as the protection of staff who have acted as “whistleblowers”.
Focus on juveniles. The report also contains an update of the standards which the CPT uses when assessing the situation of juveniles who are deprived of their liberty. In particular, there should be a formal obligation to notify a relative or another adult trusted by the juvenile about his/her detention. Further, a detained juvenile should never be subjected to police questioning without the presence of a lawyer, should be held in specific units separate from those for adults, in individual bedrooms and allowed to wear their own clothing. Centres for juveniles should also have a comprehensive strategy for managing drug abuse and the prevention of self-harm and suicide.
The CPT stipulates that staff dealing with juveniles should not carry batons, incapacitating sprays or other means of restraint, and it is to be encouraged that custodial staff do not wear uniforms. Solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure should only be imposed as a last resort, for very short periods and under no circumstances for more than three days. All juveniles should have frequent access to a telephone, and it is highly welcome if they are allowed to use free Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.
The annual CPT report also contains information about the 25 visits carried out by the committee between August 2013 in December 2014. “Periodic” visits regularly took place in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Romania, Slovakia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine and Cyprus. Other ad hoc visits due to specific circumstances took place in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Germany, Latvia, Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. (VL)