Annual Report 2010 by the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture
However, this system was observed not to be used at some of the establishments
visited, e.g. the Western Andalusia Police Headquarters in Seville and the
police stations of Cordoba and Ibiza (Balearic Islands), where police officers
had to purchase food for detainees from shops near the holding facilities. In
these cases this Office requested that the general system for the purchase and
supply of foodstuffs be implemented there. A ban on third parties bringing
food to detainees is considered appropriate, given the liabilities that might be
incurred should any food safety issues arise.
A waste collection
60. Except in the case of single-person cells, detainees must call on custodial
system should be
officers to access toilet facilities. Subsection 11, paragraph 3 of SES Instruction
implemented
12/2007 indicates that “special care must be taken to ensure that detainees can use
toilet facilities with the proper degree of privacy and hygiene”. During the
inspections made, no complaints were received on this issue. Nor were any
problems detected in accessing soap, toilet paper or feminine hygiene products,
though a waste collection system should be implemented.
It was requested that
61. Each detainee is provided with a mattress and blanket, both fireproof.
detainees be provided with
Sufficient supplies of both were available at all the establishments visited, though
fresh blankets
using them several times before having them cleaned was observed to be common
practice. Cases in point include, among others, the police headquarters for the
regions of Asturias (in Oviedo), Cantabria (in Santander), Extremadura (in
Badajoz), the Balearic Islands (in Palma de Mallorca) and Murcia, the Central
Registry of Detainees in Madrid and the district police stations of A Coruña,
Alicante, Aviles (Asturias), Caceres, Cartagena (Murcia), Leon, San Sebastian
(Guipuzcoa) and Torrelavega (Cantabria). This Office requested that all detainees
be provided with fresh blankets, because providing used blankets, even if they are
not dirty, is unacceptable on grounds of hygiene.
It is essential for measures
62. Except in exceptional circumstances, there is no provision for detainees held
to be taken to allow
in the cells for more than 24 hours to be taken out for exercise. Given the small
detainees held in cells for
more than 24 hours to
exercise outside
size of the cells and the fact that they are mostly shared, it seems essential for
measures to be taken to allow detainees to stretch their legs. It would also be
advisable for police establishments to have an area where detainees can take
physical exercise or spend a short time outdoors.
Visits can be received from
63. Detainees can receive visits from their legal counsel and from consular staff
legal counsel and from
in the case of foreign nationals. Visits from family and friends require authorisation
consular staff in the case of
foreign nationals
pursuant to Article 523 of the LECRIM. Rule 11.7 of SES Instruction 12/2007
indicates that such authorisation must be sought from the examining magistrate
handling the case.
Detainees were observed to
be handcuffed on entering
64. Article 525 of the LECRIM establishes that “no extraordinary security
and leaving holding areas
measures should be taken except in cases of disobedience” or refusal to follow the
54
THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN
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