CAT/C/CYP/CO/5
monitor and evaluate data regarding, inter alia, the total number of possible victims
identified vis-à-vis the total number of asylum seekers;
(e)
Inform the Committee about the number of asylum seekers referred to
rehabilitation due to torture, and elaborate on the specialized nature and content of
the rehabilitation offered;
(f)
Take all measures to combat the problem of police abuse, in particular
abuse perpetrated during investigations;
(g)
Provide regular training on the Istanbul Protocol to forensic doctors,
medical personnel and other officials involved in dealing with detainees and asylum
seekers in the investigation and documentation of cases of torture;
(h)
Ensure that specialized training on the identification of torture is
provided to migration officers and the medical council engaged in the initial
examination, including on physical and psychological evaluations of survivors of
torture and other harm, and ensure the inclusion of tailor-made programmes for
certain groups of vulnerable asylum seekers that take into account their particular
reception and treatment needs.
Detention conditions
34.
While welcoming the corrective measures taken to improve prison conditions, such
as the renovation and upgrading of places of detention, including a new women’s wing, and
improved access to educational opportunities for detainees, the Committee remains
concerned at reports of the use of force by law enforcement officials in places of
deprivation of liberty, in particular at the Limassol and Paphos central police stations, and
at reported incidents of death, suicide, attempted suicide, verbal abuse, racist behaviour and
psychological ill-treatment in police stations, as well as threats of reprisals for making
complaints regarding such incidents in places of detention, including police stations. The
Committee remains concerned about the situation in the central prison of Nicosia, in
particular overcrowding and poor material conditions, lighting and sanitation, as well as
about overcrowding in the women’s sections and the lack of privacy and health concerns
that have been reported. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about the overreliance
on pretrial detention in both law and practice and the lack of non-custodial measures as
alternatives to imprisonment (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
35.
The State party should continue its efforts to bring the conditions of detention
in places of deprivation of liberty into line with the provisions of the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules),
in particular by:
(a)
Implementing measures to reduce the reliance on pretrial detention and
to encourage the use of non-custodial alternatives, as well as the tracking and
evaluation of statistical data, disaggregated by ethnicity and national origin, on the
number of pretrial detainees in relation to the total number of persons deprived of
their liberty in criminal proceedings, the occupancy rate of all places of detention and
the average and maximum duration of pretrial detention;
(b)
Ensuring that all allegations of torture or ill-treatment received lead to
prompt, effective and impartial investigations whenever there are reasonable grounds
to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment have been committed, including
investigation of those officials who knew, or should have known, that ill-treatment was
occurring and failed to prevent it or report it;
(c)
Putting in place effective procedures to ensure that: all deaths, suicides
and attempted suicides, threats, racist behaviour and abuse by law enforcement
officials, and violence in custody are reported to central authorities, and compiling
data on such incidents, disaggregated by place of detention and the victim’s age, sex
and ethnic origin; all findings of criminal responsibility lead to proportional penalties
and sanctions; preventive measures are implemented in all places of deprivation of
liberty regarding the risk of suicide and violence; and detailed information is collected
on the outcomes of investigations into such deaths or injuries, including penalties
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