2010 News
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes reports on the Channel Islands
The CPT's delegation gathered no evidence of the ill-treatment of persons in police custody. However, in both Bailiwicks, a few allegations were received of excessive use of force at the time of arrest. The CPT comments in its reports that police officers need to be reminded regularly that no...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Bulgaria
The main objective of the visit was to review progress as regards the implementation of previous CPT recommendations concerning conditions of detention in investigation detention facilities (IDFs) and prisons. The CPT also visited for the first time the Special Home for temporary placement of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Georgia
The findings from the visit confirmed that the situation as regards the treatment of persons detained by the police in Georgia has considerably improved in recent years, and the CPT has welcomed the determined action taken by the Georgian authorities to prevent ill-treatment. Nevertheless, the...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee interrupts visit to the Transnistrian region of Moldova
Following initial consultations with Sergey STEPANOV, the person responsible in the region for justice-related issues, the CPT’s delegation commenced a visit to the remand section (SIZO) of Colony No. 3 in Tiraspol on 22 July 2010. However, the delegation was informed that, unlike the Committee’s...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Belgium
In the prisons sector, the CPT examined once again the question of overcrowding affecting the Belgian prison system (and, in particular, the situation in Jamioulx prison where the level of occupancy reached 150%). In this regard, the CPT took note of the “2008-2012 Master Plan for a more humane...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on the Czech Republic
One of the main objectives of the visit was to review action taken to bring an end to the application of testicular pulpectomy (“surgical castration”) vis-à-vis detained sex offenders, in the light of the recommendations made in the report on the CPT’s visit to the Czech Republic in March/April...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes response of the Swedish authorities
In their response, the Swedish authorities express the view that the new system for the investigation of complaints of police misconduct, according to which internal investigation activities are to be moved from the local police authorities to a separate unit within the National Police Board,...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee visits the United Kingdom
The purpose of the visit was to examine the situation of Radislav KRSTIĆ, a prisoner convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) who is serving his sentence in the United Kingdom.(1) On 7 May 2010, some two months after having been visited by a delegation of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Hungary
During the visit, the delegation received a few allegations of excessive use of force at the time of apprehension by the police. The CPT has recommended that a firm message continue to be delivered to police officers that no more force than is strictly necessary should be used when effecting an...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes 2009 report on Italy
The main purpose of the visit was to look into the new policy of the Italian authorities to intercept, at sea, migrants approaching Italy’s Southern Mediterranean maritime border and to send them back to Libya or other non-European States (frequently referred to as the “push-back” policy). In...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee visits the Russian Federation
The main purpose of the visit, which began on 13 April 2010, was to hold high-level talks with the Russian authorities on issues of common interest. After 19 visits to the Russian Federation, the CPT considered it important to review the state of its dialogue with the Russian authorities and to...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Italy
As concerns the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by law enforcement officials, the report states that the CPT’s delegation received a number of allegations of physical ill-treatment and/or excessive use of force by police and Carabinieri officers and, to a lesser extent, by officers...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Bosnia and Herzegovina
The May 2009 visit provided an opportunity to assess the progress made since the periodic visit in March/April 2007. The CPT’s delegation examined in detail various issues related to Sarajevo and Zenica Prisons, including the regime and treatment of remand prisoners as well as of prisoners placed...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Montenegro
During the visit, the CPT’s delegation received numerous allegations of deliberate physical ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the police and observed, in some cases, physical marks consistent with allegations made. Particular attention was paid to the manner in which...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on the Slovak Republic
The findings of the 2009 visit indicate that there has been an improvement in the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by law enforcement officials, as compared to the situation found during previous visits to Slovakia by the CPT. However, in addition to a number of complaints...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee holds talks in Greece
The main objective of the talks was to gauge the commitment of the Greek authorities to combating impunity within the police, to improving the conditions of detention of irregular migrants and to addressing long-standing problems in the prison system. In this context, the delegation was keen to...
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