News 2025
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out a visit to Türkiye
The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons deprived of their liberty by the police, particularly in the context of the public demonstrations held since 19 March 2025. To this end, the delegation visited the main police detention facilities in...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits Liechtenstein
The objective of the visit was to review the conditions of detention and the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by Liechtenstein authorities. For this purpose, the delegation examined the situation of persons held at Vaduz State Prison and paid particular attention to the safeguards...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on its 2023 periodic visit to Slovakia
During the visit, the CPT delegation focused on the treatment of persons held in police custody, in several prisons, and at Medveďov Immigration Detention Facility. It also assessed the situation of persons held at Hronovce Detention Institute and of involuntary patients in two civil psychiatric...
The Council of Europe anti-torture Committee announces periodic visits to eight countries in 2026
The Committee intends to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the following countries: Bulgaria Finland Lithuania Poland Republic of Moldova Serbia Sweden United Kingdom Persons and organisations in possession of relevant information concerning the situation of persons...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee visits Cyprus
The main objective of the visit was to visit and examine the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held at Nicosia Central Prisons and Pournara Initial Registration Centre and to review the progress in the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations since its previous visit in...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits Türkiye to examine psychiatric establishments
The focus of the CPT visit to Türkiye was to examine the treatment and living conditions of both “civil” and forensic psychiatric patients deprived of their liberty, as well as the situation of prisoners with mental health conditions held in special “Prisoner Wards” in psychiatric hospitals. To...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out an ad hoc visit to Hungary, focusing on prisons
The purpose of the visit was to examine the treatment and detention conditions of persons held in prison. To this end, the CPT delegation visited Tiszalök and Szombathely National Prisons. Particular attention was paid to the measures taken by the authorities to implement recommendations made by...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits residential care homes in Austria
The purpose of this visit was to examine the treatment of persons accommodated in residential care homes. To this end, the CPT delegation visited four institutions, two in the state of Lower Austria and two in the state of Styria. In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on its 2024 periodic visit to Czechia
During the visit, the CPT focused on the treatment of persons held in police custody, several prisons and two security detention facilities. It also examined the situation of juveniles placed in an educational institution. The CPT also continued its dialogue with the Czech authorities on the use...
The CPT adopted 10 visit reports and elected a new Bureau – President and Vice-Presidents
The CPT adopted the reports on the visits to Bulgaria (September 2024), Bosnia and Herzegovina (September 2024), Denmark – Greenland (January 2025), France (September-October 2024), the Netherlands (October 2024), Portugal (November 2024), Romania (September-October 2024), Serbia...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) deplores overcrowding and violence in prisons in Guadeloupe and French Guiana (France)
In the course of this fourth visit to the French overseas territories, the CPT visited 19 police and gendarmerie establishments, three prisons and three hospitals (see full list below) in November and December 2023. The vast majority of persons interviewed made no allegations of ill-treatment by...
The Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) holds high-level talks in Latvia
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...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on its 2024 ad hoc visit to Latvia
The purpose of this visit was to examine the treatment of persons held in prisons and to follow up on the situation found there in the 2022 visit. More specifically, the visiting delegation considered the measures taken by the Latvian authorities in response to the long-standing CPT...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits Greece to examine conditions of detention in prisons and police establishments
The purpose of the visit was to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of persons deprived of their liberty in Greek prisons and by the Hellenic Police. The visit was an opportunity to review the progress made by the authorities in implementing the Committee’s recommendations in...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee returns to Georgia to complete its periodic visit
The visit was an opportunity for the CPT to assess the treatment of persons remanded in custody at Penitentiary Establishment No. 8 in Gldani (Tbilisi) in relation to the demonstrations which have been ongoing since 29 November 2024. Further, the CPT delegation met the leadership of the Special...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on 2024 visit to Norway
No allegations were received of physical ill-treatment of prisoners by staff in the prisons visited. On the contrary, the Norwegian prison system continued to benefit from a well-trained and motivated staff. It is also positive that the material conditions in the prisons visited were mostly...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits Denmark (Greenland)
The purpose of the visit was to examine the conditions of detention, regime and treatment of persons accommodated in the closed unit (Unit A) of the new prison in Nuuk (Ny Anstalt). Brought into service in 2019, it is the only prison establishment in Greenland which has a closed unit. Previously,...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) holds high-level talks on prisons and psychiatry in Denmark
The meetings provided an opportunity to discuss long-standing issues, such as prison overcrowding and material conditions, in particular access to toilets in prison, regimes for remand and high-security prisoners, staffing levels and training. Healthcare, including medical screening on arrival...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on 2024 visit to Switzerland
As regards the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the police, the CPT once again received allegations of physical ill-treatment and excessive use of force, including biting by police dogs, truncheon blows, headbutts, punches and kicks, as well as violent tackling to the ground....
Review of 2024 activities and upcoming visits for 2025
Prison overcrowding and its nefarious consequences, which include violence, lack of activities and poor living conditions, remain a real problem in more and more countries. The legacy of informal prisoner hierarchies has not yet been overcome in the prison systems of countries of the former...
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