The main objective of the talks was to discuss the action taken by the Government to address the long-standing recommendations regarding inter-prisoner violence and the influence of the informal prisoner hierarchy.  The CPT’s report on its May 2024 visit, published on 26 February 2025 with the response of the Latvian authorities, analyses these issues in detail.

The Minister and her team presented the measures taken and envisaged to implement the recommendations made by the Committee. These include an Action Plan for Reducing the Informal Prisoner Hierarchy, the reconstruction of prison infrastructure (notably, the opening of a new 1 200-bed Liepāja prison by mid-2026), the abolition of large-capacity dormitory accommodation in all prisons, the development of a dynamic security approach (primarily through the introduction of a system of ‘persons of trust’), strengthening of the social reintegration system, and significantly increasing the number and capacities of custodial staff. The talks took place in an open and constructive atmosphere, in the spirit of the principle of cooperation.

The delegation met Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Minister of Justice, Anda Smiltēna, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, and Dmitrijs Kaļins, Head of the Prison Administration as well as other senior officials.

The CPT was represented by its President, Alan Mitchell, and Victor Zaharia, with the support of Hugh Chetwynd, Executive Secretary, and Dalia Žukauskienė of the CPT Secretariat.