Implementation of the Duties and Powers of the National Preventive Mechanism in 2012 Visit to the 17th Military Police Battalion of the Slovenian Armed Forces In 2012, pursuant to duties and powers granted under the National Preventive Mechanism in line with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, together with a representative of the NGO under a contract, visited, without any prior announcement, and inspected the detention rooms of the 17th Military Police Battalion (“17th MPB”). The battalion is located in the area of Franc Rozman Stane Military Post (“FRS military post”). The inspection of rooms for military detention in this facility was carried out by the NPM for the first time. A report and recommendations by the NPM in relation to detention rooms of the Slovenian Armed Forces were produced on the basis of an inspection of the detention rooms and an interview held with the management of the 17th MPB. During the visit, special attention was dedicated by the NPM to establishing the state of material (technical) conditions of detention. The NPM activity originated from the constitutional norm granting respect for human individuality and dignity in all legal proceedings, including the deprivation of liberty. Since 2004 until the day of the visit of the detention room, no military person had been detained by the military police forces. There are two detention rooms located in the ground floor of the building where the 17th MPB is located. The premises are appropriately equipped for longer periods of detention. Both rooms are equal in terms of their equipment and size. In a corridor in front of the detention rooms, there is a room dedicated to admission of a detained person. In a corridor, there is a washbasin with running water, two larger wooden tables with spare clothes, a table with a computer and a chair. At the time of the visit, in addition to the computer, there were two smaller microphone sets at the table intended for communication between a military police officer and a detained person. When inspecting detention rooms, the focus was mainly placed on appropriate equipment, signage and the size of the premises, proper lighting (daylight and artificial light), cleanliness, toilets, access to drinking water, the supply of food, access to health care services, videosurveillance of premises and documentation. Equipment in rooms At the time of the visit, wooden beds were covered with bed linen, and a wooden table and a wooden chair were fixed to the wall of the room. There is a small area close to the entrance into the detention room, where a squat toilet and a washbasin with running water are located. During the visit, it was established and simultaneously proposed by the NPM that some deficiencies be checked and, when necessary, remedied, specifically: • water in the squat toilet continues running after flushing and it is stopped only after a repeated release of water; • detention rooms should be numbered and the number of a room in which a person was detained be recorded in the official note, in the case of a detention; • detention rooms be marked with a warning that rooms are under video-surveillance. National Preventive Mechanism in the Republic of Slovenia under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 127