The national authorities in their response state that the Veles facility has been closed
down and the juveniles transferred to a dedicated wing of Ohrid Prison. Information
is also provided on the implementation of other CPT recommendations.
48. The overall atmosphere at Demir Hisar Psychiatric Hospital had improved since
the CPT’s visit in 2010. However, several allegations of ill-treatment of patients by
staff, as well as of inter-patient violence, were received on certain wards of Skopje
Psychiatric Hospital. The living conditions at Demir Hisar and Skopje Psychiatric
Hospitals remained, with some exceptions, poor and were exacerbated by the
austere and depersonalised environment and the overcrowding in the dormitories.
The report also includes recommendations on the application of means of restraint
to patients and the necessity to reinforce the legal safeguards surrounding the
placement, review and discharge of involuntary hospitalisation measures.
At Demir Kapija Special Institution for mentally disabled persons, the report notes
that positive relations existed between staff and residents but that inter-resident
violence was a problem. Living conditions varied across the establishment, ranging
from satisfactory in the A wards to extremely poor in the C wards, where premises
were found to be unhygienic and insalubrious and where a number of residents
did not have their own bed. There is also a need, inter alia, to reinforce the legal
safeguards surrounding their legal capacity and guardianship issues.
In their response, the national authorities provide information on the material
improvements at Demir Hisar Psychiatric Hospital, as well as the complete refurbishment of the C wards at Demir Kapija Special Institution.
Report and response published in March 2016
(CPT/Inf(2016)8 and (CPT/Inf(2016)9)
Report on the ad hoc visit to Kosovo1 in April 2015 and
the response transmitted by the United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
(treatment and conditions of detention of persons in police custody, situation in
penitentiary establishments and in psychiatric establishments)
49. The CPT’s delegation received a significant number of allegations from detained
persons of physical ill-treatment by police officers. Most of the allegations concerned
slaps, punches and kicks, in the context of police questioning, with a view to extracting confessions, or at the time of apprehension after the person concerned had been
brought under control. The Committee stresses the need for the relevant authorities
to take additional vigorous action, including during in-service training, to combat
the phenomenon of police ill-treatment. In their response, the authorities provide
information on additional training provided to police officers on the use of force as
well as updated information on the number of complaints about police ill-treatment
and the outcome of criminal/disciplinary proceedings which have been instituted
as a result.
1. All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be
understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without
prejudice to the status of Kosovo.
General Report of the CPT, 2016 ► Page 26
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