CAT/OP/TGO/1
2.
Prisons
19.
With regard to prisons, the Subcommittee has received allegations of ill-treatment
which most often resulted from disciplinary measures inflicted by other prisoners who are
part of the internal administration, as punishment for stealing, fighting or attempting to
escape, etc. These punishments take a number of forms, including solitary confinement in a
punishment cell without access to sanitary facilities, sometimes for several days; beatings;
and prolonged solitary confinement.
20.
The Subcommittee recommends that the State party establish a mechanism
allowing any persons deprived of their liberty to file a complaint about torture or illtreatment, and that it include the investigation of any such complaints as part of the
visiting mechanisms to be established. The Subcommittee also recommends that the
mechanism provide for prompt, independent and impartial investigation of all such
complaints, in accordance with articles 12 and 13 of the Convention against Torture.
B.
1.
Conditions of detention
In prisons
21.
Based on the visits it conducted, the delegation concluded that the conditions of
detention in prisons, which have been known to the competent authorities in particular
since the presentation in 2007 of the report by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (A/HRC/7/3/Add.5), remain the same.
The Subcommittee considers that such conditions are a form of inhuman and degrading
treatment, and that some of these conditions might even be considered acts of torture,
insofar as the competent authorities are fully aware of them.
22.
The delegation found deplorable conditions of detention in all the prisons visited.
The dilapidated facilities date from the colonial era. They are poorly maintained and totally
inadequate as places of deprivation of liberty. In most cases the cells are poorly ventilated
and can thus become extremely hot, at times above 40°C. The lighting in the cells is faulty
or even non-existent, as, for example, in Mango, where the prison has no electricity.
23.
In the majority of cases, the sanitary facilities, latrines and showers are decaying and
dirty. The condition of the cells depends on the initiative taken by the detainees and on their
access to cleaning products, provided by their visitors. No personal hygiene products are
distributed to the prisoners by the prison administration; the prisoners must rely on their
families to supply them with such products. If they receive no visits, they must ask for
assistance from fellow prisoners or buy the products from the yard chiefs.
24.
The prisons do not have adequate means of transport to provide for legally
authorized transportation of prisoners whenever it is necessary, even in cases of medical or
other emergencies.
25.
All the prisons have disciplinary cells, which are often dirty, run-down and rarely
used. In Notsé, the three disciplinary cells (1.19 m by 1.4 m), and the corridor leading to it
(76.8 cm by 2.60 m) are used as detention cells; 13 individuals were being held in them on
the day of the visit.
26.
As for food, the prison administration serves prisoners one daily meal, which always
consists of cornmeal or beans with sauce. If they wish to eat more, prisoners must rely on
their families’ help. The situation of disadvantaged persons, often referred to as “visitless”,
is especially worrisome.
27.
The Subcommittee reiterates the recommendations formulated by the
Committee against Torture in 2012 (CAT/C/TGO/CO/2) and by the Special
Rapporteur on torture in 2007 (A/HRC/7/3/Add.5) and invites the State party to act
on them. In that respect, although the Subcommittee recommends the completion of
the new prison facility that was under construction at the time of the visit, it invites
the State party to take immediate measures to ensure that the conditions of all persons
deprived of liberty are brought into line with international standards, including the
GE.17-06858
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