CAT/OP/PRY/2/Add.1
68.
It thus requested that the Subcommittee provide information on the minimum
standards for cells in police stations that are used as temporary holding cells.
69.
The plan envisages the construction of cells in police stations in the metropolitan
area that have been identified as those requiring better infrastructure to avoid overcrowding
and ensure basic conditions that are hygienic and provide enough space for anyone
deprived of their liberty in these police stations.
70.
Mr. Wilder Tayler, a member of the Subcommittee and the delegation that visited
Paraguay, has expressed the view that there is no “universal formula available or any model
that can be applied uniformly to a situation that, by definition, should be temporary”.
71.
He has also said that “adjusting infrastructure to satisfy a temporary need carries the
risk of prolonging the situation beyond what is recommended in human rights standards”.
72.
However, the Subcommittee recommended in 2009 and reiterated in its 2010 report
that “material conditions in the cells should be improved immediately, especially with
regard to minimum floor space, cubic content of air, lighting and ventilation”
(CAT/OP/PRY/1, para. 128 (c)).
73.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of the Interior called for bids for the construction of new
cells in the 24 police stations in the metropolitan area, and has already begun building in 22
of them.
74.
5.
This process is expected to extend to police stations outside the capital in 2012.
Detention for a protracted period of time in police custody (para. 50)
75.
In May 2011, two summit meetings between the President of the Supreme Court of
Justice and officials from the Ministry of the Interior were held to discuss matters of
common concern to them. One of the main topics of discussion was prolonged detention at
police stations. The discussions produced a joint policy on putting an end to this practice.
76.
The policy requires joint action: the Supreme Court of Justice has drawn up a draft
agreement prohibiting pretrial detention in police stations, while the ministry has drafted a
ministerial decision establishing minimum conditions for deprivation of liberty in police
stations and an institutional communication mechanism to facilitate the exercise of the right
to a defence and the observation of procedural time limits.
77.
This decision is designed to satisfy the need to have a standardized procedure for
monitoring the minimum conditions of deprivation of liberty in police stations, as well as
an institutional communication mechanism to facilitate the right to a defence and the
observation of procedural time limits.
78.
Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior reviews the list of detainees at all of the
country’s police stations three times a week, in order to monitor the observation of
procedural time limits.
79.
In cases where a violation of the procedural time limits has been detected, the
Human Rights Directorate sends memos to the Public Prosecution Service and the Supreme
Court of Justice, reporting the violation of the procedural time limit and asking both
agencies to respect such limits.
6.
Allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment (para. 51)
80.
In addition to the training for police personnel on the use of the “Basic guide to
human rights for the police service”, the decisions of the National Police Commander
concerning human rights will be publicized more widely and brought to the attention of
police station chiefs and their deputies.
10
GE.11-43459
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