14. During the reference period, the CPT
carried out one periodic visit (see section
“Publication highlights”, paragraphs 91 to
95) and two ad hoc visits to Ukraine.
15. The February 2014 ad hoc visit
was triggered by numerous reports of
ill-treatment of persons apprehended
by Internal Afairs special forces in the
context of the “Maidan” protests at
Independence Square that broke out
at the end of 2013. During the visit, the
CPT’s delegation examined the manner in
which detained protestors were treated
by law enforcement ofcials and/or other
individuals assisting them. In Kyiv, interviews were held with a number of persons apprehended in January 2014 who
had allegedly been ill-treated. Further,
the delegation spoke with many of the
persons apprehended by Internal Afairs/
Security Service special forces and/or
other persons supporting them in the
course of extremely violent law enforcement operations which began on the
frst day of the visit and ended with a
considerable number of deaths. In the
Dnipropetrovsk Region, the delegation
interviewed a number of persons apprehended during the law enforcement
operations conducted in late January
2014. The delegation also had an opportunity to go to the site where the socalled “anti-Maidan” protest camp was
located and where a number of persons
were allegedly being held by unidentifed private individuals or public ofcials
before being handed over to members
of Internal Afairs special forces.
16. One of the objectives of the
September 2014 ad hoc visit to Ukraine
was to review the treatment of prisoners in two correctional colonies in the
Kharkiv area, namely Colonies Nos. 25
and 100. During previous visits, in particular to Colony No. 25, the CPT had
heard many allegations of severe physical
General Report of the CPT, 2013-2014 ► Page 12
ill-treatment of prisoners by prison ofcers. In 2013, the Committee had also
received clear indications that, shortly
after the previous visit to Colony No. 25,
prisoners had been subjected to corporal punishment and other reprisals for
purportedly having complained to the
CPT’s delegation.
Another objective of the September visit
was to examine the situation of persons
who had been detained in the context
of ongoing “anti-terrorism” operations.
For this purpose, the delegation interviewed a considerable number of such
persons at the pre-trial establishments
(SIZOs) in Kyiv and Kharkiv as well as at
the detention facility of the State Security
Service in Kyiv. The visit also provided an
opportunity to review the action taken by
prosecutors to investigate allegations of
ill-treatment of detained persons by law
enforcement ofcials during the “Maidan”
events in Kyiv between November 2013
and February 2014.
17. In November 2014, the CPT visited
the United Kingdom, where it examined the treatment and conditions of
detention of one person convicted by
the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)
(see also paragraph 20).
The CPT also carried out its frst visit to the
British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The
visit provided an opportunity to assess
the conditions of detention and treatment of persons held in prison and to
look at the safeguards in place for persons
deprived of their liberty by the police. The
CPT’s delegation also visited the court
holding cells and establishments under
the authority of the Gibraltar customs’
enforcement agency and the United
Kingdom Ministry of Defence. Further,
the delegation examined the situation
of civil involuntary and forensic patients
in a psychiatric hospital and visited two
social care homes.
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