CAT/C/AUT/CO/6
the State party’s delegation to provide information on the measures envisaged in response
to the recent findings of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in the area of health care in prisons,1 no
concrete information has been received yet on this subject, in particular with regard to
medical confidentiality in detention facilities, the practice of involving prison officers in the
performance of health-care duties and the need to improve medical screenings on admission
(arts. 11 and 16).
29.
The State party should:
(a)
Provide adequate medical and mental health care for all persons
deprived of their liberty, especially those with mental health conditions;
(b)
Ensure that all instances of ill-treatment or neglect are promptly and
impartially investigated and that, if substantiated, the perpetrators are prosecuted
and punished with appropriate sanctions;
(c)
Ensure comprehensive medical screenings on admission and guarantee
the privacy and confidentiality of medical information. Prison officers should not be
present during medical examinations of persons, save at the request of the medical
doctor.
Electrical discharge weapons
30.
While appreciating the information provided by the State party on the strict
regulations governing the use of electrical discharge weapons (tasers) by law enforcement
officers, the Committee remains concerned about the use of such weapons in prison settings
(arts. 11 and 16).
31.
The Committee is of the view that the use of electrical discharge weapons
should be strictly subject to the principles of necessity and proportionality and should
be inadmissible in prisons, as part of the equipment of custodial staff in prisons, or
any other place of deprivation of liberty.
Deaths in custody
32.
The Committee appreciates the measures adopted by the State party to improve
suicide prevention in prisons. Nevertheless, it regrets the lack of full information on
suicides and other sudden deaths in detention facilities during the period under review (art.
11).
33.
The State party should provide the Committee with detailed information on
cases of death in custody and the causes of those deaths. It should also take measures
to ensure that all instances of death in custody are promptly and impartially
investigated by an independent body.
Juvenile justice
34.
The Committee is concerned about reports indicating shortcomings in the State
party’s juvenile justice system, which are reflected in the recommendations made by the
interdisciplinary task force on the pretrial detention of juveniles established by the Ministry
of Justice in response to an incident of sexual abuse of a 15-year-old juvenile in pretrial
detention in 2013. While appreciating the detailed information provided by the delegation
on the new methodological approaches being applied in social work with juvenile offenders
1
6
See CPT/Inf(2015) 34, paras. 77-84.