CPT: 18TH GENERAL REPORT 5 ACTIVITIES DURING THE PERIOD 1 AUGUST 2007 TO 31 JULY 2008 Visits b. 1. The CPT organised twenty visits totalling 170 days during the twelve-month period covered by this General Report. This represents a marked increase in activities as compared to the previous year (during which seventeen visits totalling 157 days were organised). 3. The nine ad hoc visits carried out by the CPT during the period covered by this General Report were to Albania, Armenia, the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation (two visits), “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (two visits), Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Of the twenty visits, eleven (totalling 116 days) formed part of the CPT’s annual programme of periodic visits and nine (54 days) were ad hoc visits which the Committee considered were required by the circumstances. 4. The main objective of the ad hoc visit to Albania in June 2008 was to review progress made in implementing recommendations made by the CPT following its May/June 2005 and May 2006 visits (the reports on those visits are available on the Committee’s website). Particular attention was paid to the treatment of persons detained by the police and conditions of detention in remand prisons and pre-trial detention centres. a. periodic visits 2. Periodic visits were organised to Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Portugal, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland. As will be seen from the information set out in Appendix 7, the situation in a range of establishments was examined in each of the countries concerned. In addition to police stations, prisons and psychiatric hospitals, the visit programmes for many of the periodic visits included establishments for immigration detainees, for juveniles, and for persons in need of social protection. Particular attention was given during certain visits to incommunicado detention (Spain), interprisoner violence (Finland), the conditions of detention of high security prisoners (Denmark, Finland, Switzerland) and of persons serving life sentences (Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova), the management of drugrelated problems in prison (Portugal) and of prisoners suffering from tuberculosis (Moldova), immigration detainees (Cyprus, Malta), and the restraint of agitated/violent psychiatric patients (Denmark, Portugal, Serbia) or prisoners (Spain). ad hoc visits 5. The ad hoc visit to Armenia in March 2008 was triggered by events which followed the Presidential election held the previous month. On 1 March 2008, a police operation took place aimed at dispersing opposition rallies in Yerevan. The CPT subsequently received numerous reports according to which dozens of persons had been arrested in the course of and following that operation. It was alleged that law enforcement officials had frequently used excessive force at the time of apprehension, and concern was expressed about the fate of those taken into detention. The CPT decided that it should examine on the spot the situation of persons detained in connection with the post-election events and seek detailed information on the force used during the 1 March operation. In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation interviewed some 80 persons who had been detained in connection with the events of 1 March. It also held discussions with the Armenian authorities, including the Minister of Justice, and met with representatives of non-governmental organisations as well as with defence lawyers.