The visit focused on the treatment of persons deprived of liberty by the police, including the effectiveness of investigations into complaints of alleged police ill-treatment, and on the conditions of detention of persons held in four prison establishments and one juvenile educational centre. It also examined the treatment and living conditions of patients in two psychiatric hospitals and of residents in a social care home.
The report concludes that there has been no improvement since its previous visits in the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the police. Consequently, the CPT calls upon the authorities to adopt a coherent strategy to combat ill-treatment by the police and improve the effectiveness of investigations into such episodes.
The situation at Idrizovo Prison, which holds approximately 60 percent of the national prison population, remained alarming. The report highlights physical ill-treatment by staff, the prolonged isolation of challenging prisoners, high levels of inter-prisoner violence, and unhygienic and unsafe conditions which are further exacerbated by severe overcrowding. Further, pervasive staff corruption and favouritism continue to undermine the proper functioning of the establishment, resulting in disadvantaged prisoners being held in the worst conditions.
In conclusion, the CPT reiterates its view that the strategic reform of the prison system, which it has been advocating for over a decade, should focus on eradicating corruption among staff and ensuring the professionalisation of prison management. The reform shall require transparent, merit-based and depoliticised appointments, and ensure the managements’ hierarchical subordination to the prison administration.
The response of the authorities of North Macedonia sets out the measures, both undertaken and planned, to implement the recommendations made by the Committee in its report. They refer in particular to the preparatory work for the project to reconstruct the closed-regime section of Idrizovo Prison co-funded through a loan of the Council of Europe Development Bank, the improvement of the quality of food provided to prisoners at Idrizovo Prison, the recruitment and training of additional custodial staff and the continuous efforts to combat corruption. Finally, the response points to the efforts made in the fight against ill-treatment by the police. Information is also provided on addressing the prolonged and inadequate fixation of psychiatric patients, the renovation of dilapidated units of the psychiatric hospitals visited, and the deinstitutionalisation process of residents of social care homes.
The report was published on 15 May 2024. The response has been made public under an automatic publication procedure introduced by the authorities of North Macedonia.