2008 News
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee holds high-level talks in Kosovo*
In the context of these talks, which were held from 9 to 11 December 2008, the CPT’s representatives met the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Kosovo, Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Werner Almhofer, the Deputy...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes reports on Moldova
In the light of the information gathered during the 2007 visit, the CPT concluded that, despite clear efforts made by the Moldovan authorities in recent years, the phenomenon of ill-treatment by the police remained of serious proportions. The Committee has called upon the authorities to continue...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
The 2008 visit focused on the treatment and conditions of detention of sentenced and remand prisoners. In this context, it assessed developments in relation to prison healthcare services and examined the use of means of restraint within prison. Particular attention was also paid to the issue of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee holds high-level talks with Turkish authorities
Issues discussed during the talks on 13 October 2008 included the conditions of detention of Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held for more than nine years as the sole inmate of the prison on the island of Imralı. The CPT’s representatives also raised other matters with the Turkish authorities, in...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Croatia
The report reviews the situation of persons detained by the police, including immigration detainees. The information gathered during the visit indicated that ill-treatment by the police remained a problem in Croatia. The CPT made a series of recommendations to address this problem, including that...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee visits the Russian Federation
The visit focussed on the City of Moscow, the Republic of Udmurtia and the Regions of Arkhangelsk and Vologda. The CPT’s delegation paid particular attention to the treatment of persons detained by Internal Affairs agencies, including foreign nationals and administrative detainees. It also...
Extending the activities of the Council of Europe anti-torture Committee to Abkhazia and South Ossetia
In Tbilisi, the CPT’s representatives held talks with the Minister and Deputy Minister of Justice, Nika Gvaramia and Tina Burjaliani, the Minister of Reintegration, Temuri Yakobashvili, the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Ekaterine Zguladze, and the Secretary of the National Security...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Liechtenstein
The report contains, in particular, recommendations to strengthen fundamental safeguards which persons deprived of their liberty by the police should enjoy, and to improve the activities offered to inmates at Vaduz Prison, the only prison in the Principality. Further, for the first time in...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Cyprus
The report reviews the situation of persons detained by the police, including immigration detainees. The information gathered during the visit indicated that physical ill-treatment by the police remained a problem in Cyprus. The CPT made a series of recommendations designed to address that issue....
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee returns to the North Caucasian region of the Russian Federation
During the visit, the Committee’s delegation examined for the first time the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria; it also returned to the Republic of Ingushetia. The delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty: Republic of...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Bulgaria
The majority of the persons met by the CPT's delegation who were, or had recently been, detained by the police, indicated that they had been correctly treated. However, a significant number of the persons interviewed did make allegations of physical ill-treatment at the time of their apprehension...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Slovenia
The majority of the persons interviewed during the visit indicated that they had been treated by the police in a correct manner. Nevertheless, a few allegations of physical ill-treatment by police officers were received, which concerned mainly the time of apprehension and less frequently...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
A considerable number of persons - including juveniles – interviewed during the visit alleged that they had been ill-treated by law enforcement officials; in particular, there were repeated allegations concerning officers from the Special Mobile Police Units (known as “Alfa”). The findings...
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on the Netherlands
As regards the Kingdom in Europe, the CPT considers that the boats ‘Kalmar’ and ‘Stockholm’, used for detaining irregular migrants, are unsuitable for prolonged detention and should be taken out of service at the earliest opportunity. By contrast, the conditions in the Rotterdam airport Expulsion...