The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published a report on its periodic visit to North Macedonia, which took place in October 2023 (see executive summary).
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 living conditions of patients in two psychiatric hospitals and of residents in a social care home.
The report concludes that there has been no improvement in the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the police since its 2019 visit. The CPT received many allegations of police ill-treatment related to the time of arrest or questioning in a police inspector office. It calls on the authorities to finally adopt a coherent strategy to combat this phenomenon. Furthermore, the recently established tripartite police accountability body (i.e. External Oversight Mechanism) needs to be supported by the adoption of a methodology for conducting effective investigations into such allegations on the basis of the concrete recommendations made by the Committee.
The report is published under the automatic publication procedure to which the authorities of North Macedonia have agreed.
