PRE-DEPORTATION DETENTION FACILITIES Emphasis should be given to the broad range of activities which the Pre-Deportation Detention Wing in Büren Prison offers. It includes, a landing with sports and recreational facilities, for example sports and fitness machines, table tennis, billiards, table football, as well as a library containing foreignlanguage books. In addition cookery and video groups are organised in the recreation room. Detainees can play football, volleyball, badminton and basketball outside. The detainees awaiting deportation are offered the opportunity to, for instance, do maintenance and cleaning work, work in the depository and cleaning the yard. They can work with wood, making nesting boxes for birds and other items in workshops. In Works Hall 1 they can do simple packaging and assembly work. The Joint Commission was able to see for itself that many of the detainees take up the recreational, sports and employment opportunities available. Staff stressed how important the possibility of doing sports was for detainees awaiting deportation, since it gave them the chance to relieve their dissatisfaction at their situation, as well as the accompanying frustration and aggression. In this context staff also mentioned that they were in favour of a sports hall being built for the detainees so that they can continue doing sports in winter. Five employees of the company European Homecare (EHC) are responsible for providing social assistance to the detainees awaiting deportation. Four members of staff are responsible for the social service and one is responsible for organising workshops. They are generally available on weekdays, as well as at weekends where necessary. According to many members of staff in the facility, they make a key contribution to the good atmosphere. The fact that these staff members also have different cultural and national backgrounds is a not insignificant factor for success. It also means the EHC employees speak a wide spectrum of languages, which is why they are often involved in the admission meeting and medical examination. The EHC employees support the detainees in, amongst other things, filling in asylum applications, contacting and communicating with the authorities or organising relatives’ visits. According to various members of staff, the Catholic priest and the doctor, the EHC employees showed great personal commitment and have gained the trust of the detainees awaiting deportation. During its visit the Joint Commission witnessed the trusted manner in which an EHC employee treated the detainees. The Joint Commission would like to emphasise that the facility gives the impression of being in a very good condition, that is the detention rooms, the common rooms and the outdoor area. For example, there was hardly any graffiti on the walls, although it is more than two years since the building was renovated. Detainees awaiting deportation are also offered sufficiently long visiting times. However, the Joint Commission feels that Büren Prison’s location is not unproblematic. The facility is approx. 6 km outside of the town of Büren in a forest and cannot be reached by public transport. A taxi ride from Büren costs approx. EUR 25. Nevertheless, the Joint Commission learned that this problem is also being solved successfully and very practically through the commitment of the staff in the facility, the EHC employees, cooperation with the private welfare organisation and the Evangelisches Werk (the social services of the Protestant Church in Germany). Visitors who do not have the required financial means are helped either by being refunded the costs of the trip or by being given a lift in one of the staff’s private cars. According to the staff, the previous month 195 visiting groups (comprising a maximum of three adults and one child each) were registered. These high visiting figures are an indication that, despite the facility’s unfortunate location, visits are being made possible by the personal commitment of the staff and welfare organisations. 1.6.2 – Recommendations of the Joint Commission The enhanced supervision room in the infirmary is equipped with “riot-proof” furniture. This is regarded as a less severe measure than detention in the specially secured room and is in particular used where there is a risk of suicide. The toilet in the enhanced supervision room is visible through a window in the door. The Joint Commission would like to emphasise the following: It follows from Article 1 of the Basic Law that each person has the right to the protection of privacy when performing their bodily needs. The CPT has repeatedly stressed that privacy must be protected when a person is using the toilet or washing. Sanitary facilities (in the detention rooms) must at least be 26 partially partitioned off. According to the CPT, this also applies to high security cells, which are 27 comparable to an enhanced supervision room. The Joint Commission is of the opinion that measures must also be taken in the enhanced supervision room to protect detainees’ privacy. Further, the fittings and furnishings in the specially secured room give occasion to draw attention to the need to protect detainees’ privacy. The specially secured room in the facility is a very large room which has a toilet set into the floor. This toilet is also visible 26 27 60 Cf. CPT/Inf (2009) 5, margin no. 109 Cf. e.g. CPT/Inf (2010) 16, margin no. 17