3 WHAT IS ISOLATION? 3 What is isolation? There is an obvious risk that inmates who have had restrictions imposed, or who are placed in segregation, will be isolated in a way that could lead to negative consequences. Swedish legislation lacks a definition of the term isolation. However, such a definition is contained in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (referred to as the Nelson Mandela Rules). The rules were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2015. According to the Nelson Mandela Rules, an inmate is in solitary confinement if he or she is confined for more than 22 hours per day without meaningful human contact. An inmate is considered to be in pro-longed solitary confinement if he or she has stayed in solitary confinement for a period exceeding 15 days.1 The Istanbul Statement – adopted at the International Psychological Trauma Symposium in Istanbul in Solitary confinement 2007 – states, in addition to the above, that solitary means that a person confinement typically inis alone for more volves both a quantitative than 22 hours per day and qualitative reduction without meaningful of stimuli. This means that the available stimuli and human contact occasional social contacts are seldom freely chosen, and are generally monotonous and often not empathetic.2 1 See The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners rule 44. 2 See The Istanbul statement on the use and effects of solitary confinement (adopted on 9 December 2007) p. 1. The Remand Prison and Restriction Government Inquiry has defined “isolation” as follows: “A person deprived of his or her liberty is isolated if he or she is locked up in his or her cell and deprived of all meaningful human contact for 22–24 hours a day. In order for an inmate not to be considered isolated, it is required that he or she is offered the opportunity to associate with another person for a total period of at least two hours per day. This association must take place outside their own cell, with the exception of co-sitting, which is isolation-breaking even if it takes place in an inmate’s own cell.”3 The Prison and Probation Service is working to reduce the isolation of inmates. The agency’s objective is to ensure inmates must receive at least two hours of isolation-breaking measures per day.4 3 4 – 24 – See SOU 2016:52 p. 69. See the Prison and Probation Service’s annual report 2018 p. 31.