Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2016 I. PERSONS DEPRIVED OF THEIR LIBERTY AND THE FUNCTIONING OF THE NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM 1. PRISON SYSTEM Acting on individual complaints and making regular visits to penal institutions represent ways of protecting the rights of persons deprived of their liberty and of strengthening their protection against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In 2016, we received 158 complaints, carried out 40 investigative procedures in the field and visited eight penal institutions. NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS BY PERSONS IN THE PRISON SYSTEM 219 200 178 NUMBER OF NPM VISITS TO PENAL INSTITUTIONS 12 165 158 8 6 3 2012 2013 2014 2015 0 2016 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 In 2014, the focus of NPM were persons with mental disorders, which is why we made no visits to penal institutions. 1.1. Complaints filed by persons deprived of their liberty who are in the prison system “...The extent to which my rights are violated is something that is simply impossible to describe in words, but I will try.” In 2016, the number of complaints continued to decrease slightly, which was expected given the trend of declining prison population rates. Persons deprived of their liberty in most cases use one complaint to report several instances of violation of different rights; nevertheless, quality of healthcare services, treatment by officers of security section and accommodation conditions are still the most common reasons for filing complaints. As in previous years, prisoners also contacted us because of the functioning of the Treatment Department for Prisoners, inefficient legal protection and possibilities of contact with the outside world. 7