Presentation The Spanish Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo), as the “National Preventive Mechanism against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (Mecanismo Nacional de Prevención de la Tortura y otros tratos o penas crueles, inhumanos o degradantes –“NPM”), is entrusted with the supervision of centres for the deprivation of liberty, for human rights to be respected at all of them. Throughout 2013, 60 centres were visited. Visits were intense and the Ombudsman technical experts were often accompanied by specialists in legal medicine, psychiatry and psychology. In addition, it used the advice of the Advisory Council (Consejo Asesor), formed by jurists specialised in fields such as international law, prison law or law philosophy, and specialists in psychology or medicine. We should like to thank them all warmly for their contributions. We must also point out that the visits undertaken, in their immense majority made without prior warning, were always well received. This year, for the first time, a flight repatriating foreigners was supervised from the reception of the foreign nationals at the airport to their final destination. Although this is not the purpose of the NPM strictly speaking, it is appropriate to mention the visits made to centres abroad with Spanish prisoners. At these visits, particular attention is given to prisoners with serious diseases who need special care and, where possible, their relocation to Spain to continue the prison sentence is requested. The cooperation of Spanish embassies has been particularly relevant for these purposes. The report is intended to be as objective as possible. On the one hand, it mentions the improvements made at the centres, often, after the recommendations made and, on the other hand, it does not avoid describing the deficiencies still detected, since its purpose is to achieve, with the cooperation of many people, the demanding objective of having the conditions required by international treaties on human rights met everywhere. Madrid, May 2014 Soledad Becerril Defensora del Pueblo [Spanish Ombudsman] 9