by the CPT, without being offered any outdoor exercise and without being able to take a shower. The Committee recommends that the detention rooms in the former garages are no longer to be used for overnight accommodation of families with children and/or unaccompanied minors; and, in respect of any other detainee, that they are used for no longer than 36 hours. 33. As regards immigration and asylum detention centres, material conditions varied considerably from one establishment to another. In particular, a number of serious shortcomings concerning material conditions are described in respect of Nagyfa Prison Unit and Unit Kárpát 1 of Kiskunhalas Guarded Shelter, and the CPT recommends that the Hungarian authorities carry out a complete overhaul of the detention conditions in these establishments. The CPT’s delegation gained a generally favourable impression of the regime offered to foreign nationals at Békéscsaba Asylum Reception Centre. However, a number of shortcomings are described as regards the other places visited and the Committee recommends that the Hungarian authorities develop regime activities for foreign nationals in all immigration and asylum detention centres, including outdoor exercise for at least one hour (and preferably considerably more) per day. The CPT is concerned that hardly any arrangements were in place to cater for the needs of young children held with their families at the Békéscsaba Asylum Reception Centre and at Unit Kárpát 2 of the Kiskunhalas Guarded Shelter. Further, several husbands had apparently been separated by the authorities from the rest of their families. The Committee considers that, as a matter of principle, the placement of minors with their parents in a detention centre should only occur as a last resort, and if, in exceptional circumstances, such placement cannot be avoided, its duration should be as short as possible and children should be provided with appropriate care. Every possible effort should be made to avoid separation of children from their parents and splitting up the family. 34. Concerning fundamental safeguards against ill-treatment in the context of police custody, complaints were received from foreign nationals about delays in respect of the right of notification of custody to a third person, a lack of information concerning the right of access to a lawyer, the inability to consult a lawyer before being questioned by the police or before a court hearing and a lack of information on the right of access to a doctor; there were also complaints regarding the quality of interpretation services. 35. As regards safeguards to protect foreign nationals against refoulement, the CPT expresses doubts, in view of the relevant legislative framework and its practical operation, as to whether border asylum procedures are accompanied by appropriate safeguards in practice, whether they provide a real opportunity for foreign nationals to present their case and whether they involve an individual assessment of the risk of ill-treatment in the case of removal. 36. In their response, the Hungarian authorities challenge the Committee’s findings, including those concerning ill-treatment of detained persons, and explicitly reject many of the recommendations made. Report and response published in November 2016 (CPT/Inf(2016)27 and CPT/Inf(2016)28) General Report of the CPT, 2016 ► Page 20

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents