8 CPT: 14TH GENERAL REPORT ACTIVITIES DURING THE PERIOD 1 AUGUST 2003 TO 31 JULY 2004 Visits 1. The CPT organised twenty-two visits totalling 169 days during the twelve-month period covered by this General Report1. Pending further reinforcement of its Secretariat, the Committee has been obliged for the time being to maintain its annual visit programme at the 170-day level; however, an increase in the number of visit days will soon be possible (cf. paragraph 24). Of the twenty-two visits, ten (totalling 100 days) formed part of the CPT’s annual programme of periodic visits and twelve (69 days) were ad hoc visits which the Committee considered were required by the circumstances. 2. The following countries received periodic visits during the period 1 August 2003 to 31 July 2004: Andorra, Austria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Iceland, Lithuania, Portugal and Turkey. During the remaining months of 2004, five more periodic visits will be organised – to Cyprus, Italy, Moldova, Poland and, for the first time, to Serbia and Montenegro. 3. Specific reference should be made to the periodic visit to Georgia, which had to be organised in two stages, in November 2003 and May 2004. At the time of the outset of the visit (the dates of which had been fixed several months beforehand), a political crisis had developed in the aftermath of the parliamentary elections of 2 November 2003 and the country was in turmoil due to almost daily demonstrations. The CPT nevertheless decided to maintain the visit; indeed, it was felt that given the nature of the Committee’s mandate, the presence of the delegation at that moment would be particularly appropriate. However, in the light of the situation, the delegation had to adapt its programme, in particular as regards travel outside Tbilisi. Consequently, a continuation of the visit was planned for May 2004, the main objective being to examine the treatment of persons detained in Adjara. Once again, the visit coincided with important events, namely a critical political and security situation which had arisen following the destruction of bridges connecting Adjara with other parts of the country. 1 The countries and places of detention visited are set out in Appendix 7. Despite this, and for the same reasons as in November 2003, the visit was maintained, and the delegation arrived in Batumi the day after the introduction of direct Presidential rule. Notwithstanding inevitable complications caused by the above-mentioned events, the delegation was able to carry out the visit according to the CPT’s mandate and its consultations with the competent national authorities took place in a spirit of close cooperation. 4. The twelve ad hoc visits carried out by the CPT during the period covered by this General Report concerned the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Latvia, Malta, Moldova (two visits), Romania, Switzerland, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The circumstances which led to the organisation of these visits varied considerably. Some of them were carried out in order to verify the implementation in practice of recommendations previously made by the CPT concerning issues of particular importance. Others were triggered by recent reports concerning the situation of persons deprived of their liberty. In one case, namely the visits to Moldova, the CPT’s intervention took place very much at the instigation of the national authorities, which requested the Committee’s assistance in attempts to break a longrunning deadlock concerning Prison No. 8 in Bender. 5. Prison No. 8 in Bender forms part of the penitentiary system of the Republic of Moldova, but is located in an area under the control of the Transnistrian region (which unilaterally declared itself an independent republic in 1991). In July 2003 the Bender municipal authorities cut off the supply of running water and electricity to the prison; they claimed that the establishment represented a significant tuberculosis risk to the surrounding Bender community and wished to see it vacated. During ad hoc visits to Moldova in November 2003 and February 2004, the CPT’s delegation examined the situation in Prison No. 8 and held talks with all relevant authorities, in order to explore ways of ending the impasse which had arisen. In this context it was emphasised that any attempt to impose a settlement of differences by bringing about hardship to prisoners deserves unqualified condemnation.