Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2013 The representatives of the NPM visiting various types of places of detention have not found any evidence for torture against inmates. However, this does not mean that such incidents do not take place in Poland. This conclusion stems from the analysis of court judgments issued in cases concerning the crime referred to in Article 246 of the Penal Code, which stipulates that a public official or anyone acting under his orders for the purpose of obtaining specific testimony, explanations, information or a statement, uses force, unlawful threat, or otherwise torments another person either physically or psychologically shall be subject to the penalty of deprivation of liberty for a term of between 1 and 10 years. The representatives of the NPM analysed the information about persons sentenced based on this Article of the Penal Code provided by the Information Office of the National Criminal Register. The analysis shows that 29 Police officers were sentenced between 2008 and 2012 in 18 cases related to the use of violence to extort information from detainees. It should be emphasized that, in the majority of cases, torture was used, because the Police officers, acting on their own or with other officers, who wanted to extort testimony, confession to crime or obtain information, intentionally inflicted physical and mental pain on detainees by means of e.g. – “(…) hitting him repeatedly with their hands on the face and the head, and beating and kicking him all over his body; they also forced the victim to make a statement about the committed crime kneeling and handcuffed, beating him at the same time with a rubber baton on his soles and feet (...).23 – “(…) acting in order to force the said person to confess to acquiring items obtained due to a prohibited act, he hit him several times with an open hand on the head”.24 It is also worth noting that sentences in the above cases usually fluctuated around the lower threshold provided for in the Penal Code. They were most often the sentences of deprivation of liberty for one year and several months (not more than 2 years), which were suspended for the trial period (2-5 years). Moreover, in District Court for Wrocław Śródmieście – file No V K 1561/06. Other judgments, see District Court in Toruń – file No VIII K 1700/11, District Court in Olsztyn – file No II K 16/10, District Court in Koszalin – file No II K 278/10, District Court in Poznań Grunwald and Jeżyce in Poznań – file No III K 909/08, District Court in Nysa – file No II K 507/07, District Court in Lipno – file No II K 646/10, District Court in Włocławek – file No II 213/09, Regional Court in Opole – file No III K 145/06, District Court in Giżycko – file No II K 47/07, District Court in Wyszków – file No II K 218/07, District Court in Bolesławiec – file No II K 1490/10, District Court in Kalisz – file No II K 411/09, District Court in Szczytno – file No II K 763/09, District Court in Tarnobrzeg – file No II K 429/10, District Court in Chełm – file No VII K 1569/10. 24 District Court in Biała Podlaska – file No II K 404/07. 23 19