News 2024
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee issues a public statement regarding the Russian Federation
The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an open convention, which means that the Russian Federation has continued to be bound by its provisions even after its expulsion from the Council of Europe in March 2022, following the...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on its 2023 periodic visit to Armenia
The delegation examined the treatment of and safeguards afforded to persons deprived of their liberty by the police and the military, as well as the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in several prisons as well as at the Central Prison Hospital. Furthermore, it examined the...
The CPT plenary session adopts five country reports and holds an exchange with the Council of Europe Development Bank
During this session, the CPT adopted reports on recent visits to Czechia (April 2024), Denmark (May-June 2024), Ireland (May 2024), Latvia (May 2024) and Norway (May 2024). The reports will be communicated to the national authorities and published as soon as possible.[1] The Committee held a...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) hold high-level talks on prison reform in Italy
In recent months, the Italian prison system has been confronted with serious challenges to its proper functioning, caused notably by the steady increase in prison overcrowding and its detrimental effects on living conditions, the provision of regime, violence and relations with staff. The spike...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes the response of the Lithuanian authorities to the report on the 2024 visit
The objective of the visit was to examine the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee formulated in the report on the periodic visit carried out in 2021. These recommendations concerned in particular the widespread inter-prisoner violence, and the abundance of illegal drugs in...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee holds high-level talks in the United Kingdom
The prison system of England and Wales has been in a state of chronic crisis for many years. However, in recent months the problems have become acute, with prison places full and emergency measures required to create some breathing space. In this context, the CPT wished to explore with the new...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out a visit to Slovenia
The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment and living conditions of persons held in prison and of residents living in a special social welfare establishment. Particular attention was paid to the measures taken by the authorities to implement recommendations made by the Committee...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits the Netherlands
In the course of the visit, the delegation assessed the treatment in closed residential youth institutions (“Jeugdzorg Plus”), in the light of the 2024 report “Eenzaam Gesloten” by Jason Bhugwandass and earlier reports on the effective protection of youth placed in these institutions against...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out a visit to Romania
The delegation visited all four existing Psychiatric and Safety Measures Hospitals in the country, in order to assess the implementation of the relevant recommendations made by the Committee, in particular after its previous ad hoc visit in 2022. The delegation met with Alexandru Rafila, Minister...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) holds high-level talks in North Macedonia on prisons
The Prime Minister was briefed on the dire situation in Idrizovo Prison, where the conditions of detention remain appalling for hundreds of prisoners. The issues highlighted in the CPT report on the October 2023 visit regarding this and other prisons in the country, such as lack of staff,...
The Council of Europe's anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits France
The delegation visited four large prison establishments experiencing severe challenges linked to overcrowding. The treatment, material conditions and regime applied to remand and sentenced persons were examined in these establishments. Particular attention was also paid to the situation of women...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes the response of the authorities of North Macedonia to the report on the 2023 visit
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...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes the response of the Albanian authorities to the report on the 2023 visit
The main objective of the visit was to review the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held in police custody and in prisons. A further focus of the visit was the situation of forensic psychiatric patients and prisoners with mental disorders. The CPT delegation also examined, for the...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on its 2023 periodic visit to Estonia
The main objective of the visit was to review the measures taken by the Estonian authorities in response to the recommendations made by the Committee after previous visits. In this connection, particular attention was paid to the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in police custody...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out an ad hoc visit to Bulgaria
The objective of the visit was to assess the implementation of the CPT’s long-standing recommendations concerning the treatment and conditions of detention of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty pursuant to aliens legislation. These related to the inadequate material conditions,...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina
The main objective of the periodic visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, notably as regards persons apprehended and detained by various police agencies at the State, Entity and Cantonal levels. The visit was also an opportunity to...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on its 2024 ad hoc visit to Lithuania
The objective of the visit was to examine the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee formulated in the report on the periodic visit carried out in 2021, in particular as regards widespread inter-prisoner violence as well as the abundance of illegal drugs in prisons combined with a...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) again calls on Greece to reform its immigration detention system and stop pushbacks
The main objective of the November 2023 visit to Greece was to examine the treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under immigration legislation in pre-removal detention centres, in police and border guard stations and in the newly built Closed Controlled Access Centres on the...
The CPT held its 114th plenary meeting in July 2024
During this meeting, the CPT adopted the reports on its periodic visit to the Slovak Republic (November-December 2023) and on its ad hoc visits to France overseas (French Guiana and Guadeloupe) (November-December 2023), Italy (April 2024), Lithuania (February 2024), Switzerland (March 2024) and...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee issues public statement on Azerbaijan
The reason behind this exceptional decision to make a public statement is the outright refusal of the Azerbaijani authorities to cooperate with the CPT. The Committee made genuine attempts to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Azerbaijani authorities to address matters that lie at the...
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: interview with Hugh Chetwynd, Executive Secretary of the CPT
Co-operation, confidentiality and dialogue: the pillars of the CPT. For Hugh Chetwynd, cooperation, confidentiality and dialogue are essential to the success of the CPT's mission. “Our purpose is to realise that there are no perfect systems, but to help states overcome the challenges they are...
Meeting of the CPT President and the Polish Minister of Justice to promote cooperation
The meeting provided in particular an opportunity to discuss the implementation of a number of long-standing recommendations by the CPT, including those concerning the legal safeguards for persons in police custody, standard living space in Polish prisons, the regime of activities and...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out a visit to Denmark
In the course of the visit, the delegation examined the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons deprived of their liberty by the police as well as the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in prison, foreign nationals detained pursuant to aliens’ legislation and psychiatric...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out a visit to Ireland
In the course of the visit, the delegation examined the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in prison and their conditions of detention. Further, the delegation assessed the situation of persons deprived of their liberty in psychiatric hospitals and juveniles held in an educational...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out a visit to Norway
In the course of the visit, the delegation examined the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons deprived of their liberty by the police as well as the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in prison and at the police immigration detention centre. Further, it assessed the situation...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits Latvia
The purpose of this ad hoc visit was to examine the treatment of persons held in prisons and to follow up on the situation found 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) publishes report on its 2023 periodic visit to Cyprus
The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in Nicosia Central Prisons and of persons held under immigration legislation, including at the Menoyia Detention Centre and the Pournara Registration Centre. The visiting delegation also examined...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on North Macedonia
The visit focused on treatment 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...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits Czechia
In the course of the visit, the delegation examined the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons deprived of their liberty by the police and the treatment of persons in prison and their conditions of detention. Further, it assessed the situation of persons subjected to the measure of security...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on Ukraine
The great majority of the interviewed persons who were, or had recently been, in police custody indicated that the police had treated them correctly. The Committee takes note of this positive finding, illustrating the results of efforts deployed by the Ukrainian authorities in recent years to...
The Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) 2023 General Report focuses on the protection of transgender persons in prison
The Committee underlines that this important topic is reflective of a dynamic and evolving social reality within European countries. The experience of the CPT over multiple visits is that transgender persons held in detention can be in a situation of vulnerability, at heightened risk of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) carries out a visit to Italy
The objective of the visit was to examine the treatment, conditions of detention, legal safeguards and quality of healthcare provided to foreign nationals held in four of the nine operating CPRs throughout the country. In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with senior...
The Council of Europe anti-torture Committee announces periodic visits to eight countries in 2025
The Committee intends to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the following countries: Azerbaijan Belgium Germany Greece Liechtenstein Montenegro Romania Spain Persons and organisations in possession of relevant information concerning the situation of persons deprived of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on the monitoring of a Frontex-supported return operation from Germany to Pakistan
The report examines the treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under immigration legislation and the safeguards afforded to them in the context of their removal. The return flight of 5 September 2023 was organised by Germany, with the participation of three EU members states...
Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) visits Switzerland
The purpose of this visit was to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the police and in remand detention in four cantons of the Swiss Confederation. In this context, particular attention was paid to the measures taken by the Swiss authorities in response to the...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes the response of the Luxembourg authorities to the report on the 2023 visit
The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment of persons deprived of liberty by the police and of persons detained in the two closed prisons, as well as the situation of patients in several closed psychiatric units in two hospitals. Particular attention was paid to the situation of...
The CPT held its 113th plenary meeting in March 2024
During this meeting, the CPT adopted the reports on its periodic visits to Armenia (September 2023), Malta (September-October 2023), North Macedonia (October 2023) and Ukraine (October 2023) and on its ad hoc visit to examine the treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes preliminary observations on its visit to Armenia
The preliminary observations are published at the request of the Armenian authorities. The report on the visit is expected to be adopted during the Committee’s forthcoming plenary meeting taking place in March in Strasbourg. Read the preliminary observations The CPT and Armenia
The Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits Türkiye
The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment of persons held in high-security prisons. A further focus of the visit was the situation of LGBTI and women prisoners. On the occasion of the visit, the delegation also raised with the relevant authorities certain issues related to the...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) visits Lithuania
The purpose of this ad hoc visit was to examine the treatment of persons in prisons and to follow up on the situation found in the 2021 visit. More specifically, the visit considered the measures taken by the Lithuanian authorities in response to the long-standing CPT recommendations regarding...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on Poland
The main objective of the visit was to review the measures taken by the Polish authorities in response to the recommendations made by the CPT after previous visits. In this connection, particular attention was paid to the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in police custody, foreign...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) holds high-level talks in Montenegro
The talks focused on the longstanding concerns of the Committee regarding the treatment of persons held by the police, accountability and effectiveness of investigations into allegations of ill-treatment. Also discussed was the system of remand detention in Montenegro, notably poor regimes and...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on its 2023 ad hoc visit to the United Kingdom on immigration detention
The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held under immigration legislation, both in immigration removal centres (IRCs) and in prison establishments. The CPT found that there were many good practices being promoted in the IRCs visited to...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) holds high-level talks in Albania on forensic psychiatry
The talks focused on the longstanding concerns of the Committee regarding the treatment of patients in forensic psychiatry, currently held in Shënkoll Prison in Lezha and the Prison Hospital in Tirana. The delegation was particularly keen to learn about the steps being taken to implement the...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on its 2023 ad hoc visit to Bulgaria
The CPT is highly critical of the lack of implementation of many of the Committee’s long-standing recommendations regarding the treatment, conditions and legal safeguards offered to patients in psychiatric hospitals. However, the CPT notes that some progress appears to be being made as regards...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on its 2023 ad hoc visit to Serbia
The visit focused on the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the police and the effectiveness of investigations carried out by prosecutors and internal oversight bodies into allegations of ill-treatment by the police. The conditions of detention and treatment of remand prisoners, as...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes its report on the ad hoc visit to Georgia
The focus of the visit was on the secure wards of VivaMedi Clinic in Tbilisi, where prisoners receiving inpatient treatment are accommodated. In their response, the Georgian authorities provided information on the measures taken to implement the recommendations made in the CPT’s report. The CPT...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on Albania
The main objective of the CPT’s 2023 visit to Albania was to review the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held in police custody and in prisons. A further focus of the visit was the situation of forensic psychiatric patients and prisoners with a mental disorder. The CPT delegation...
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