A/65/44
(b)
Provide also for their participation in the drafting by the Federal Office
for Migration of orders on the use of coercive measures by police escorts during
forcible returns;
(c)
Prevent police violence and mistreatment against persons being forcibly
repatriated by air, open inquiries into any such allegations, prosecute and punish
perpetrators, and compensate victims;
(d)
Continue training in human rights and, especially, in Convention
safeguards of police and other officials who carry out forcible repatriation.
(16) The Committee is most concerned by the death of a Nigerian citizen, Joseph
Ndukaku Chiakwa, on 10 March 2010, when he was being forcibly repatriated by air.
While noting that the authorities of the State party have opened an inquiry, the Committee
is concerned about whether the coercive measures applied by the State party are compatible
with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee is also concerned by the failure of
the State party to respond to claims for compensation from the families of the two latest
victims in recent cases of forced repatriation (arts. 2, 3 and 14).
The State party must:
(a)
Open an independent and impartial inquiry into the circumstances of the
death of Joseph Ndukaku Chiakwa, establish who was responsible for the use of force
that led to his death, prosecute and punish the perpetrators and offer compensation to
the victim’s family;
(b)
Provide the Committee with details of the compensation made to the
families of the two latest victims of forcible repatriation by air;
(c)
Inform the Committee as to whether the order on the use of coercive
measures by police escorts during forcible returns currently being drafted by the
Federal Office for Migration is in accordance with the State party’s international
obligations, particularly the Convention against Torture.
Conditions of detention
(17) The Committee takes note of information provided by the State party regarding its
efforts to create more dignified and more secure conditions for detainees, including the
construction in 2008 of the detention centre of La Brenaz, and plans to expand capacity at
the Champ Dollon and La Brenaz prisons. However, the Committee notes with concern the
acute overcrowding of the Champ Dollon prison, that conditions in Swiss prisons,
especially in the French-speaking cantons, are inadequate and that the separation of adults
and minors is not always guaranteed. Moreover, the Committee is concerned by the state of
health and access to decent health care of detainees, especially those with psychiatric
disorders and, above all, those housed in the Frambois holding centre (arts. 11 and 16).
The State party must act immediately to deal with the problem of overcrowding in the
Champ Dollon prison and to improve conditions in all Swiss prisons. The Committee
urges the State party to make use of alternative and non-custodial sentences and to
reduce pretrial detention periods. The State party must also take measures to ensure
that minors and adults, as well as detainees serving under different prison regimes,
are separated. Finally, it must take steps to ensure the application of legislation and
procedures concerning health-care access for all prisoners, especially those with
psychiatric problems.
(18) The Committee takes note of information supplied by the State party on life
imprisonment procedures. However, the Committee remains concerned that article 123a of
the Constitution, specified in the Act of 1 August 2008, allows imprisonment for life of
dangerous or sexual offenders considered to be non-reformable. The Committee is, in this
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GE.10-44721
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