EN_CPT_AR.book Page 11 Monday, October 25, 2010 5:14 PM Activities during the period 1 August 2009 to 31 July 2010 The ambition of the CPT is to exercise its mandate in every corner of Europe; there should be no human rights vacuum in any part of the continent. However, the Committee is not prepared to give up its basic attributes in pursuit of that ambition. The CPT stands ready to resume its visit to the Transnistrian region as soon as its power to interview in private any person deprived of his or her liberty is guaranteed. 11. During the ad hoc visit to Romania in September/October 2009, the CPT’s delegation reviewed the situation of patients at the Nucet Medico-Social Centre and the Oradea Hospital for Neurology and Psychiatry. These establishments had been visited by the Committee in the framework of the periodic visit organised in 2006 and were the subject of a considerable number of recommendations. The report on the 2009 ad hoc visit as well as the Romanian authorities’ response were made public on 26 August 2010. The report notes a number of improvements as regards living conditions, staff resources and patients’ treatment in the two establishments, at the same time as highlighting areas where further progress is necessary. In their response, the Romanian authorities draw attention to various steps taken to address issues raised by the CPT, but also emphasise the difficulties arising from budgetary constraints. 12. The ad hoc visit to the Russian Federation in April 2010 was to a large extent focused on high-level talks with the authorities. After nineteen visits to Russia, the CPT considered it important to review the state of its dialogue with the Russian authorities and have an exchange of views on progress made towards implementation of the most important recommendations made by the Committee in the past. The talks had as their primary basis the last two CPT reports, concerning the periodic visit in 2008 and the ad hoc visit to the North Caucasian region in 2009, and the Russian authorities’ responses to them. New developments in areas falling under the CPT’s mandate, in particular the proposed reforms of the penitentiary system and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were also examined. In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation went to various penitentiary and law enforcement establishments located in Moscow City. 13. The two-day ad hoc visit to Turkey in January 2010 related to the conditions of detention of Abdullah Öcalan. The report on this visit and the Turkish authorities’ response were made public on 9 July 2010. Ever since 2001, the CPT has been expressing concern about the situation of Abdullah Öcalan and, in particular, has repeatedly emphasised the potentially harmful effects of his detention as the sole inmate of the prison on Imralı island. The Committee has insisted that he should at the earliest opportunity be integrated into a setting where contacts with other inmates and a wider range of activities are possible. The difficulties frequently encountered by the relatives and lawyers of this prisoner as regards their access to Imralı island have been another bone of contention between the CPT and the Turkish authorities. 11