The purpose of the visit was to examine the conditions of detention, regime and treatment of persons accommodated in the closed unit (Unit A) of the new prison in Nuuk (Ny Anstalt). Brought into service in 2019, it is the only prison establishment in Greenland which has a closed unit. Previously, persons from Greenland serving a sentence in closed conditions had to do so in Denmark, mainly in Herstedvester Institution (visited by the CPT on several occasions). The opening of the new Nuuk Prison enables Greenlandic prisoners to be held closer to their homes and in a familiar linguistic and cultural environment. Most of the prisoners concerned are serving indeterminate prison sentences (forvarignsdom) for serious offences.
While in Nuuk, the CPT delegation held consultations with Christian Høygaard (Director) and other officials of the Prison and Probation Administration in Greenland. After the visit, on 17 January 2025, the delegation presented its preliminary observations to senior officials from the Danish Prisons and Probation Administration in Copenhagen, including Mette Kjølby, Acting Director of the Centre for Sentence Enforcement.
The visit was carried out by Vânia Costa Ramos (Head of Delegation), Marie Kmecovà and Elsa Bára Traustadòttir. They were supported by Borys Wòdz (Head of Division at the CPT Secretariat) and assisted by an expert, Pétur Hauksson (psychiatrist, former Head of the Psychiatric Department at Reykjalundur Rehabilitation Centre, Iceland).
