Foreword 2016 was a busy year for the CPT. In addition to the scheduled periodic visits, the CPT carried out a number of targeted ad hoc visits, some of them organised at short notice in response to current events. Examples include the visits to Belgium during an ongoing strike by prison staff, to Greece to examine the situation in the so-called “hotspots” and to Turkey following the military coup attempt. The CPT also carried out visits to reassess the situation in Ukraine and in the North Caucasian region of the Russian Federation, and monitored another “return flight” (from Spain). A major theme for the periodic visits was examining the question of overcrowding in prisons and the impact that it has on conditions, regime, health care and incidents of violence. This is a serious problem in many countries of the Council of Europe. However, it is interesting to note that in a few countries visited in 2016, the prison population is decreasing and prisons are being closed which demonstrates that overcrowding can be tackled successfully. An important segment of any prison population are those persons held on remand pending trial or awaiting their final sentence, and the treatment of this group of prisoners is the subject of the Committee’s reflections in this General Report. The CPT is also committed to exchanging views and experience beyond its monitoring activities proper, even beyond the Council of Europe area. For instance, in 2016 I participated in a conference on the 10th anniversary of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), and also released a joint statement with the Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Torture (SPT) on the occasion of the “International Day in Support of Victims of Torture”. Several contact meetings were held with the European Union and the OSCE, and support was given to national preventive mechanisms (NPMs) on many occasions. The CPT was also pleased to respond to requests for training for government and civil society delegations wishing to learn more about its work, standards and methods, from states as diverse as Brazil, China, Kazakhstan and South Korea. The strengthening of the prevention of torture on all levels (universal, European and national) calls for concerted efforts, based on mutual trust and subsidiarity, and the CPT is determined to play its role in this context. Finally, I welcome the decision of the authorities of Austria, Finland, Monaco and Sweden during the past year to agree to the automatic publication of CPT reports. This brings the total number of states that have agreed to this procedure to eight (Bulgaria, Luxembourg, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have done so previously). As the CPT has stated on many occasions, publication of CPT reports is a sign of transparency, and also an opportunity to open a wider debate on the issues raised in them. I encourage other countries to follow suit. Mykola Gnatovskyy, President of the CPT ► Page 5