CAT/C/KOR/CO/3-5
accordance with international standards and enable the referral of inmates requiring
specialized medical care to outside medical facilities;
(c)
Ensure that restraints are used only as a measure of last resort, for the
shortest time possible and only when less intrusive alternatives for control have failed,
and ensure the strict monitoring of the implementation of article 99 (2) of the
Administration and Treatment of Correctional Institution Inmates Act;
(d)
Consider using non-custodial measures and alternatives to detention in
keeping with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial
Measures (the Tokyo Rules);
(e)
Provide age- and gender-disaggregated data on detainees covering the
reporting period.
Solitary confinement
23.
The Committee is concerned that inmates are frequently placed in solitary
confinement, as a disciplinary measure, for periods of up to 30 days, without strict medical
monitoring and without the possibility of appeal (arts. 2, 11-13 and 16).
24.
The State party should:
(a)
Amend current legislation in order to ensure that solitary confinement
remains an exceptional measure of last resort, applied for a duration that does not
exceed 15 days, and that it is imposed in line with international standards;
(b)
Ensure that the detainees’ due process rights, such as the right to an
independent hearing and to appeal, are respected when subjecting them to solitary
confinement and that the disciplinary committee acts with impartiality;
(c)
Establish clear and specific criteria for decisions on isolation and ensure
that renewing and prolonging disciplinary sanctions of solitary confinement is strictly
prohibited
(d)
Ensure that detainees’ physical and mental condition is monitored daily
by qualified medical personnel throughout the period of solitary confinement.
“Substitute cells” in police stations
25.
While taking note of the closure of several “substitute cells” in police stations and
that only four remain in operation, the Committee is concerned at the poor material
conditions, including overcrowding, extremely small investigation detention rooms and
insufficient privacy of sanitary facilities, in particular for women, who are supervised by
male staff (arts. 11-14 and 16).
26.
The State party should close the remaining “substitute cells”, take urgent
measures to bring conditions in still existing “substitute cells” in line with relevant
international standards and ensure that female police officers supervise “substitute
cells” in which women are detained until they are closed.
Deaths in custody
27.
The Committee is concerned about the high number of suicides and sudden deaths in
correctional facilities. It is particularly concerned that a large number of deaths in custody
is due to the absence of adequate medical treatment for inmates suffering from diseases and
that autopsies may not always be carried out and therefore cannot be used as evidence in
criminal and civil cases. The Committee is also concerned about the very high number of
persons in pretrial detention who have committed suicide that may be the result of coercive
investigation procedures by police and prosecutors (arts. 2, 11-14 and 16).
28.
The State party should:
(a)
Conduct an in-depth study into the causes of suicides and sudden deaths
in correctional facilities and take all other measures necessary to reduce the number
of suicides and sudden deaths;
7