Annual Report 2010 by the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture
except at the Plaza de
[Ávila, Aviles (Asturias), Ciudad Real, Oviedo (Asturias), Santander, the
Castilla courthouse in
courthouse complex [Ciudad de la Justicia] in Valencia and the criminal court
Madrid
building [Juzgados de lo Penal] in Seville were all opened in 2010]. An exception
is the courthouse building at Plaza de Castilla in Madrid, which is over 30 years
old and has seen heavy use. It is in a poor state of conservation, and a request has
been filed for it to be refurbished.
Except at the Magistrate’s
229. Conditions in the facilities used by personnel are mostly satisfactory.
Court at Plaza de Castilla in
These facilities usually consist of a single, sparsely furnished office, which
Madrid, facilities for
personnel are in acceptable
condition
means that some officers have to remain standing while they are there. However,
the offices and other facilities at the Magistrate’s Court [Juzgados de Instrucción]
at Plaza de Castilla in Madrid are in poor condition, with unsatisfactory
temperatures and ventilation levels. There is a room with a bed and a toilet,
intended to enable the officer in charge to stay overnight, which is also in an
unsatisfactory condition.
Cells are usually in the
230. In these buildings the cells are usually in the basement, with direct access
basement. There is direct
from the garage. Exceptions to this rule are the courthouses in Madrid and
access from the garage
except in the courthouses
in Madrid & Zaragoza
Zaragoza, where the garage entrances are too small for Civil Guard vans to enter.
At the courthouse complex in Valencia the cells are on the ground floor, with
direct access from the parking area reserved for police vehicles.
Facilities ranging from
231. The structure of the cell areas varies considerably, ranging from facilities
one cell to 30. Actual
with just one cell [AP and High Court in Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands),
occupancy does not exceed
capacity except in Melilla
and Seville
the court for cases of domestic violence [Juzgado de Violencia Doméstica] in
Cordoba and the Magistrate’s Court in Maspalomas (Las Palmas)] to facilities
with as many as 30 cells, such as those in the courthouse complexes in Malaga and
Valencia. Except in the cases of Melilla and Seville, actual occupancy was observed
not to exceed capacity.
Cell doors of many types
Cell doors of many types were observed. Those doors with barred openings should
be replaced by more secure types. Cells have built-in plinths that serve as beds,
except in the magistrates’ and criminal courts in A Coruña, where a metal plinth
in very poor condition was observed. It was requested that this be replaced so as
to forestall injuries.
At the courthouse in Melilla
232. No problems were observed with the size of cells except at the courthouse
and the JJI in Seville the
in Melilla, where it was recommended that enlargement work be undertaken,
need for refurbishment was
pointed out to avoid
overcrowding
especially in view of the high level of occupancy: on the day of the visit there were
18 detainees in a situation of clear overcrowding. The same can be said of the cells
at the AP and JJI building in Seville, where there have been as many as 50 detainees
in a day, when the theoretical capacity is 25-30.
104
THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents