the prisoner is being formally returned to his cell.61 During the visit to the N6 facility it was found out that the prisoners were placed in the de-escalation room for a maximum of 14 days. Also, in the facility N6, there is a practice of handcuffing prisoners in the de-escalation room. The analysis of the documents reveal that handcuffing is done for prisoners for an average of 3-4 hours, although there are also cases of handcuffing for 6 hours or 9 hours (handcuffs were put on one of the prisoners at 12 o'clock at night and removed at 9 o'clock in the morning). During 2020 to December 17, handcuffs were used in 33 cases. Monitoring at the facility N8 revealed that de-escalation rooms and solitary (safe) cells were being used even against juveniles. For example, in the period from January 1 to August 7, 2020, juvenile prisoners were placed in solitary (safe) cells in 10 cases, and in 1 of these cases, the juvenile was left there virtually uninterrupted for 6 days. According to the documents in the facility, he was taken out of the solitary (safe) cell after 24 hours and returned in a few minutes. The Public Defender considers that it is inadmissible to place a juvenile in a solitary (safe) cell and in the de-escalation room in inappropriate conditions and, moreover, for a long time. This practice directly contradicts the protection of the best interests of the juvenile, the objectives of the Juvenile Justice Code, the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment.62 Misuse of de-escalation rooms and solitary (safe) cells Placing a prisoner in a de-escalation room / solitary (safe) cell still does not ensure the prevention of selfharm and calming down a prisoner. De-escalation rooms and solitary (safe) cells are not arranged in such a way as to minimize the risk of self-harm, and the conditions of detention in these cells often lead to a deterioration in the psycho-emotional state of prisoners. A multidisciplinary team does not work to prevent or eliminate a crisis before or in parallel with placement in a de-escalation room and in a solitary (safe) cell. The staff of the establishments are not trained in non-violent crisis management skills and deescalation methods. A monitoring of closed and high-risk penitentiary establishments in 2020 showed that due to the lack of psycho-social support services and other situation management, the administration places an inmate in a de-escalation room and solitary (safe) cell with mental health problems for a long time. The Public Defender and the Special Preventive Group consider that prolonged placement of prisoners with mental health problems in a de-escalation room and solitary confinement and failure to provide adequate psychiatric care violates the requirements of Article 15 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.63 The placement of prisoners with mental health problems in de-escalation rooms and solitary (safe) cells should only be an extreme For details, see the follow-up report of the Emergency Monitoring Visit of the National Preventive Mechanism to the Establishment N3 (July 12-13, 2020), p.5. Available at the following address: https://www.ombudsman.ge/res/docs/2020122514202220362.pdf [last visited: 31.01.2021] 62 For further details, see Chapter of the Report - Juveniles. 63 In the case of Kucheruk v. Ukraine (no2570/04) the European Court of Human Rights considered a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of torture) of the European Convention the prolonged and repetitive solitary confinement and handcuffing of a prisoner with mental health problems because the facility did not have sufficient resources to manage inmate behavior and provide psychiatric care, para: 131. 61 38