8 CPT: 9TH GENERAL REPORT ACTIVITIES IN 1998 Visits 1. The CPT organised some 130 days of visits during 1998. The highlight of the year was the commencement of the CPT’s activities in the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The Committee expects that it will be a frequent visitor to both of these countries, given the magnitude of the issues falling within the CPT’s mandate. A complete list of the countries and places of detention visited by CPT delegations in 1998 is set out in Appendix 3. 4. With some exceptions, the degree of cooperation displayed towards CPT delegations during visits remains satisfactory, at both national and local level. This generally favourable situation is certainly due in part to the practice of organising information seminars on the activities of the Committee in States which have recently become Parties to the Convention. In the course of 1998, such seminars were held in Chişinău, Moscow, Skopje and Zagreb.1 2. The CPT carried out ten periodic visits: to Andorra, Croatia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Moldova, Spain, Sweden, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, and Ukraine. This was the first time the CPT had visited Andorra, Croatia, Moldova, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Ukraine. As for the remaining countries, 1998 marked the second occasion on which the Committee had visited them on a periodic basis (and for Spain, the third). 5. Nevertheless, delays in gaining access to particular establishments are still encountered from time to time, especially as regards law enforcement agencies. The policy of CPT delegations has always been, and will remain, to persist until such time as access to the establishment concerned is provided. The Committee wishes to stress in this regard that an initial refusal of access to a place of deprivation of liberty constitutes a flagrant and most serious violation of Article 8 of the Convention (according to which the CPT may at any time visit any place of deprivation of liberty), as well as of the principle of cooperation set out in Article 3; as such, it could certainly justify the making of a public statement under Article 10, paragraph 2, of the Convention. 3. In addition, three ad hoc visits were organised: to Albania, Germany (Frankfurt am Main Airport) and the Russian Federation. The main objective of the December 1998 ad hoc visit to Albania was to review the conditions at Elbasan Psychiatric Hospital as well as at Prison No. 313 and the Prison Hospital in Tirana. These establishments had been the subject of a number of recommendations after the CPT’s periodic visit in December 1997. The visit to Germany in May 1998 was organised in order to verify the conditions of detention of immigration detainees at Frankfurt am Main Airport, as well as to examine the procedures for enforcement of removal orders. Prior to the visit, the CPT had received critical reports of those conditions as well as allegations of the use of excessive force during the enforcement of removal orders. The November 1998 ad hoc visit to the Russian Federation took place two months after the Convention’s entry into force in respect of that country. In this connection it should be recalled that the CPT accords a high priority to visiting without delay States which have recently ratified the Convention. As regards in particular the Russian Federation, in recent years the CPT has received extremely alarming reports about conditions of detention in the country’s pre-trial establishments (SIZO's). Consequently, the CPT considered that it should examine without delay the treatment of persons held in establishments of this type. The visit also provided an opportunity to examine the manner in which detained persons are treated by the police (Militia) during the initial period of their custody. The Committee also wishes to recall the obligation placed on Parties by Article 8, paragraph 2(b), of the Convention to provide full information on places where persons are deprived of their liberty. It remains the case that lists of such places are quite frequently not provided to the Committee in good time. 6. Further, reference should be made to the practice observed on occasion in law enforcement agencies of police officers noting the exact length of time spent by delegation members with detained persons. There can be no legitimate reason for the recording of such information. 1 To date in 1999, similar information seminars have been held in Rīga and St. Petersburg.