On 8 February , the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published the report on its ad hoc visit carried out to the United Kingdom (UK) in March and April 2023, during which the visiting delegation examined the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held under immigration legislation, both in immigration removal centres (IRCs) and in prison establishments. In the IRCs visited, the CPT had found that the uncertainty of the length of detention and the use of prison-like immigration detention centres such as Brook House and Colnbrook was problematic.
The CPT considers that conditions of detention, reception and induction processes, Adults at Risk policy and staffing issues could be improved. Concerning the Time Served Foreign National Offenders, who are held in prisons and have served their sentence, the CPT reiterates its position that they should be transferred from prison to an immigration centre in line with their new legal status, as the conditions of detention and the support provided to these persons in prison remain far inferior to those on offer in the immigration detention estate.
On 22 February 2024, the CPT published its report on the visit carried out to Poland from 21 March to 1 April 2022, during which it also examined the treatment and conditions of detention of foreign nationals detained in Border Guard establishments. In this context, the delegation heard no allegations of ill-treatment of foreign nationals by staff at the three guarded centres visited (in Biała Podlaska, Białystok and Wędrzyn).
Material conditions were generally acceptable but there was a near total lack of any constructive purposeful activities. Further, access to specialist medical care was problematic including as regards psychiatric and psychological care. As found during previous CPT visits, the issue of legal assistance was left almost entirely to various non-governmental organisations. Furthermore, the CPT expressed serious misgivings regarding the presence and use of restraint beds in detention facilities for foreigners.
