Police detention centres
The commission reviewed the detention of persons in a detention area at the
closed detention station established in May 2017 and found problems as well:
apparently, prisoners were primarily transferred to this area for disciplinary
purposes. In addition, every hunger-striking detainee was held in this area for
a certain period. The NPM asked the Federal Ministry of the Interior to issue a
statement regarding this follow-up visit. It had not been received at the time
of completing this report.
New area for closed
detention
During another follow-up visit in November 2017, the commission primarily
observed deficiencies in the medical care of substance-impaired detainees.
The NPM asked the Federal Ministry of the Interior to announce measures
to ensure adequate medical care to the affected persons. The NPM again
recommended that patient documentation be maintained in electronic form.
It was found that there were gaps and incorrect information in the handwritten documentation. For example, the staff did not notice that the results of
more than 20 chest X-rays for diagnosing tuberculosis were missing.
Follow-up visit in
November 2017
In addition to other organisational deficiencies, the NPM criticised the fact
that guards were present at all medical examinations. Criticism was also
directed at the small food portions and the continued lack of employment
opportunities. Moreover, the NPM again expressed its concerns regarding the
handling of closed detention at the detention centre. The Federal Ministry of
the Interior also failed to make a statement with respect to this follow-up visit
to date.
In its Report 2016 (p. 146), the NPM reported on the visit to Vordernberg
detention centre by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Disabled
Persons of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in
November 2016. The PACE delegation saw a need to increase the number
of guards and improve access to information on the reasons for detention.
This mainly related to the detainees’ right to legal counselling. The delegation
proposed that the design of the start screen on the information terminal,
which is currently only in two languages, be changed.
Visit to Vordernberg
detention centre by
PACE and APT
In March 2017, the Federal Ministry of the Interior stated that it had ordered the
transfer of ten additional police officers to the detention centre and also ordered
technical improvements to the information terminal. The Federal Ministry
rejected the criticism that information on legal counselling opportunities
was unclear. It also explained that detainees receive a comprehensive
informational brochure regarding their rights at admission. The NPM verified
that legal counselling services are described in detail in that brochure. The
PACE delegation was erroneously provided with a document that differed from
this brochure.
155
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents