2012 News
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee visits Azerbaijan
The main objective of the visit was to review the implementation of recommendations made after previous visits concerning the treatment of persons detained by law enforcement agencies. The delegation held consultations with Fikrat MAMMADOV, Minister of Justice, Oruj ZALOV, Deputy Minister of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on 2011 visit to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
The 2011 visit focused on the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held in Idrizovo Prison, which had been the subject of many recommendations following previous visits. The report on the visit states that the practice of some prison officers resorting to violence against inmates...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on 2012 visit to Belgium
The main purpose of the visit was to review the prevailing situation in the Belgian prison system, in particular the conditions of detention in establishments for prisoners awaiting trial and issues connected to strikes by prison staff and other industrial action resulting in a reduced work rate...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on 2012 visit to Bulgaria
Overcrowding remains a major problem in the Bulgarian penitentiary system, and disturbing levels of overcrowding were observed in both prisons visited. The report urges the authorities to redouble their efforts to counter this problem and to be guided in this respect by the relevant...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Ukraine
Numerous persons interviewed by the CPT’s delegation, including women and juveniles, alleged that they had been subjected to physical ill-treatment at the time of arrest or during subsequent questioning by police officers. In several cases, the ill-treatment alleged was of such a severity that it...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee urges states to set up national bodies to monitor places of deprivation of liberty
The Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), which entered into force in 2006, establishes an independent UN monitoring body and obliges States Parties to create independent national monitoring structures to...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Switzerland
Nearly all detained persons met by the CPT’s delegation in the Cantons of Bern, Thurgau, Zug and Zurich stated that they had been treated correctly by the police; a few allegations of excessive use of force by the police were received concerning the Canton of Vaud. However, in the Canton of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Armenia and response of the Armenian Government
The 2011 ad hoc visit was carried out to assess the steps taken by the Armenian authorities to implement long-standing recommendations made by the CPT, in particular those concerning the treatment of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment. The Committee’s delegation visited Yerevan-Kentron...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on the Netherlands
The visit report notes that the CPT’s delegation received no allegations of physical ill-treatment of persons detained by the police, prisoners or patients in mental health institutions. On the contrary, the relations between persons deprived of their liberty and staff appeared to be generally...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on visit to Tilburg Prison
In application of an Interstate Convention concluded in October 2009, the Dutch authorities make available to Belgium the premises of Tilburg Prison and its staff, for the purpose of detaining persons serving final sentences imposed by Belgian courts. By this means, the Belgium authorities are...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Serbia
In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation received several allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, including in respect of juveniles. The alleged ill-treatment consisted of slaps, punches, kicks and truncheon blows and concerned the time of apprehension or when suspects...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee holds high-level talks in Russia
On 21 May 2012, the CPT's representatives met, in Moscow, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, together with the Heads of the Investigation Departments of the Chechen Republic and the Republics of Dagestan and North Ossetia-Alania. In the...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Bosnia and Herzegovina
The CPT’s delegation received a considerable number of credible allegations of severe physical ill-treatment by the police. The alleged ill-treatment mostly concerned kicks and punches to the body and blows with batons; however, detailed allegations were also received of handcuffing in stress...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on France and response of the French Government
In its visit report, the CPT notes a number of positive developments. Legal reforms had been adopted or initiated in several fields of considerable interest to the Committee (e.g. police custody, prison matters and psychiatric care). However, some of the CPT’s long-standing concerns had only been...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Albania
The majority of the persons interviewed by the CPT delegation stated that they had been correctly treated by the police. However, a significant number of persons (including many juveniles) claimed that they had been subjected to ill-treatment (e.g. slaps, punches, kicks or truncheon blows) at the...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on 2010 visit to Bulgaria
The majority of the persons interviewed by the CPT's delegation said that they had been correctly treated by the police. Nevertheless, a considerable number of persons alleged physical ill-treatment at the time of their apprehension. In a few isolated cases, the delegation heard allegations of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Germany
The CPT heard no allegations of recent ill-treatment during custody in police establishments. However, a few allegations were received from detained persons (including juveniles) that they had been subjected to excessive use of force by police officers at the time of apprehension (in particular,...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on 2010 visit to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
The CPT’s report states that a significant number of persons alleged ill-treatment by police officers and recommends national authorities to continue to take action to combat ill-treatment by police, including an effective investigation into every allegation . In response, the national...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Moldova
In its report, the CPT notes that a significant proportion of detained persons interviewed by its delegation complained of police ill-treatment during the months preceding the visit. Consequently, the Committee recommends that the Moldovan authorities continue to implement anti-torture measures...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Greece and response of the Greek Government
The 2011 ad hoc visit was carried out to assess the concrete steps taken by the Greek authorities to implement long-standing recommendations made by the CPT, in particular those contained in the reports on the Committee’s visits of September 2005, February 2007, September 2008 and September 2009....
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