CAT/OP/ESP/1 I. Introduction 1. In accordance with the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment carried out a regular visit to Spain from 15 to 26 October 2017. It held meetings with government authorities, civil society and persons deprived of their liberty and visited 31 places of deprivation of liberty in Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao, San Sebastián, Melilla, Málaga, Algeciras and Cádiz-Jerez. 2. The Subcommittee was represented by its members Felipe Villavicencio Terreros (head of delegation), Lorena González Pinto (Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee), Nora Sveaass (Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee), Roberto Michel Fehér Pérez and Abdallah Ounnir. 3. The Subcommittee members were assisted by three human rights officers and two security officers from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). 4. The Subcommittee had planned to include the Autonomous Community of Catalonia in its visit. However, during the mission, the Subcommittee decided it would be more appropriate to postpone the analysis of the circumstances of persons deprived of their liberty in that region owing to the highly publicized domestic political situation that arose during the visit. 5. At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its confidential preliminary observations orally to government authorities. In the present report, the Subcommittee sets out its findings and recommendations relevant to the prevention of torture and ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. The present report uses the generic term “ill-treatment” to refer to any form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 1 Together with this report, the Subcommittee is forwarding a report on its observations specifically relating to the national preventive mechanism. 6. The Subcommittee requests the Spanish authorities to provide a reply to the present report within six months from the date of its transmission, including a full account of the actions taken to implement the recommendations. 7. The present report will remain confidential until such time as the State party decides to make it public. The Subcommittee firmly believes that the publication of the present report would contribute positively to the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, as the widespread dissemination of the recommendations would help to lay the groundwork for a transparent and fruitful national dialogue on the issues covered in the report. 8. The Subcommittee recommends that Spain request the publication of the present report in accordance with article 16 (2) of the Optional Protocol, as has been done previously by other States parties. 9. The Subcommittee wishes to express its gratitude to the authorities of Spain for the manner in which they facilitated the visit. Access to places of detention was quick and unfettered. The authorities and the staff of the places visited by the Subcommittee readily cooperated with it. The Subcommittee notes that it had unrestricted access to the persons deprived of their liberty whom it wished to interview in private and to the reports and records it requested. When there was a delay, access was arranged quickly and effectively by the focal points designated by the State party. 10. The Subcommittee acknowledges that the State party has taken a number of legislative and other measures with regard to the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including Organic Act No. 13/2015, which amended the Criminal Procedure Act, in particular articles 118, 509 and 520, to expand the 1 GE.19-17184 In accordance with article 16 of the Convention against Torture. 3