The Committee intends to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the following countries:

• Azerbaijan
• Finland
• Germany
• Republic of Moldova
• Monaco
• Serbia
• Spain
• Sweden

Persons in possession of information concerning deprivation of liberty in any of these countries which they believe could assist the CPT are invited to bring it to the Committee’s attention.

The CPT will also organise ad hoc visits in 2020 whenever it considers this is required by the circumstances. The majority of visits carried out by the Committee are now of this nature.

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The CPT organises visits to places of deprivation of liberty in the Council of Europe’s 47 member states in order to assess how detained persons are treated. Places visited include prisons, juvenile detention centres, police stations, holding centres for immigration detainees, psychiatric hospitals, social care homes, etc.

CPT delegations have unlimited access to places of deprivation of liberty, and the right to move inside such places without restriction. They interview detained persons in private, may enter into contact with anyone else who may be able to provide relevant information, and should be provided with the information available to the authorities which is necessary for the Committee to carry out its task . After each visit, the CPT sends a confidential report containing its findings and recommendations to the state concerned. The CPT’s report and the corresponding government response may constitute the basis for a subsequent confidential dialogue between the CPT and the national authorities in order to strengthen the protection of detained persons from ill-treatment.