Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2017 4. Right to information All prisoners have the right and the need to receive understandable and updated information concerning issues that are of importance to them - their rights, applicable procedures and methods for lodging complaints. Access to such information increases the sense of security and allows prisoners to play an active part in safeguarding their rights. It also facilitates access to complaint procedures and therefore, it plays a role in preventing violence. What is of paramount importance in that regard, is the situation of foreigners who usually are not familiar with the Polish language or regulations and procedures applicable in Poland. During one of the visits, the representatives of the NMPT noticed that a prisoner of Vietnamese nationality who did not speak Polish was not properly informed about his rights50. All documents of importance to him (internal order and statements) were drawn up in the Polish language. What also constituted a problem for the prisoner in question was communication with the establishment’s personnel, including the doctor. NMPT experts were reassured that, if need arises, an interpreter is called and available translation devices are used. Yet, the analysis of documentation indicated that the interpreter was only present during a meeting with a lawyer. The NMPT indicates the steps that need to be taken in relation to prisoners who are citizens of other countries: report the existence of language barrier in the prisoner’s file, deliver to the establishment information leaflets for foreigners and provide them to prisoners in a language they can understand, inform the prisoner about his/her rights and obligations, in a language that he/she can understand and indicate in the documentation what language was used to perform the information provision obligations and who participated in the procedure involving the prisoner (e.g. an interpreter), ensure translation of all documents relevant to the prisoner (e.g. internal regulations, statements, decisions) into the language he/she can understand, especially if such documents have certain implications and he/she needs to confirm in writing the fact of having read them, use the assistance of an interpreter, especially during the initial meeting and medical examination when the prisoner may report that he/she was a victim of violence. 50 Pre-trial detention centre in Grójec 24