Remand detention 1. Introduction 52. In many European countries, the persistent problem of overcrowding in prisons, with all its related challenges, has to be ascribed to a large extent to the high proportion among the total prison population of remand prisoners (i.e. prisoners who are detained by court order and are still awaiting their trial or have not been convicted by a final judgment). However, this is not the only reason why the CPT pays close attention to remand prisoners during its visits. In the CPT’s experience, remand prisoners are all too often held in dilapidated and overcrowded cells and are frequently subjected to an impoverished regime. In a number of visit reports, the CPT has taken the view that the conditions of detention of remand prisoners in the establishments visited were totally unacceptable and could easily be considered to be inhuman and degrading. Moreover, remand prisoners are frequently subjected to various types of restrictions (in particular as regards contacts with the outside world), and, in a number of countries, certain remand prisoners are held in solitary confinement by court order (sometimes for prolonged periods). The CPT also wishes to stress that, for the individual, detention on remand can have severe psychological effects – suicide rates among remand prisoners can be several times higher than among sentenced prisoners2 – and other serious consequences, such as the breaking up of family ties or the loss of employment or accommodation. 53. Within the Council of Europe area, the frequency and duration of remand detention appears to differ enormously in practice from one country to another, with the proportion of remand prisoners of the total prison population ranging from 8% to 70%. On average, some 25% of all prisoners in the Council of Europe area are on remand. For foreign nationals in remand detention, the proportion is significantly higher, with an average of some 40% of the overall number of imprisoned foreign nationals.3 2. Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics, SPACE I – Prison Populations, Survey 2015, PC-CP (2016) 6, 15 December 2016, tables 5.1 and 13.1. 3. Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics, SPACE I – Prison Populations, Survey 2015, PC-CP (2016) 6, 15 December 2016, tables 4 and 5.1. ► Page 31