Svisloch. Cell space of 2 m² (in prison and penitentiary colonies), 3,5 m² (in re-education
camps), 2,5 m² (in temporary detention facilities) and at least 4 m² (for pregnant women and
women with children) falls short of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and other international standards. The
Committee is also concerned at alleged acts of torture and ill-treatment committed by law
enforcement officers and prison personnel in those places, including allegations of
widespread use of solitary confinement which is not subject to appeal. The Committee is also
concerned at the inadequate staffing in places of deprivation of liberty, in particular an
insufficient number of psychiatrists in prisons and the absence of adequate training on the
Istanbul Protocol of medical personnel and other public officials working with persons
deprived of their liberty. The Committee regrets the lack of information provided as to
independence and documentation and reporting activities of doctors concerning injuries
revealing signs of torture and ill-treatment. While welcoming the State party’s initiative on
distance learning offered to prisoners, the Committee is concerned at the lack of other equally
important measures aiming at improving the social reintegration of prisoner, such as the
extra-curricular activities of prisoners (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
22.
The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures to ensure
that prison conditions are in line with relevant international human rights standards,
and, in particular, to:
(a)
Continue efforts aimed at increasing the use of non-custodial measures
and alternatives to detention, in keeping with the United Nations Standard Minimum
Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules);
(b)
Continue to strengthen the measures aimed at further decreasing the
number of persons in the prison system and to reduce overcrowding with a view to
bringing conditions of detention into line with the international standards;
(c)
Take robust measure to prevent inter-prisoner violence and to protect the
life and safety of all prisoners; implement appropriate programs to prevent, monitor
and document incidents of inter-prisoner violence, compile official statistics on such
incidents; and ensure effective investigations and accountability for violence between
prisoners;
(d)
Ensure that solitary confinement remains an exceptional measure,
imposed for as short a time as possible and is a measure of last resort, in line with
international standards; and that the detainees are guaranteed due process rights, such
as the right to appeal;
(e)
Ensure that the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation
of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(Istanbul Protocol) is made an essential part of the training of all medical professionals
and other public officials working with persons deprived of their liberty with a
particular focus on sexual violence; ensure that all alleged cases of torture and illtreatment are promptly medically documented in line with the Istanbul Protocol and
reported to the competent authorities;
(f)
Improve access to and quality of health care, including psychiatric care,
for prisoners in all places of deprivation of liberty, including for life-sentenced
prisoners, provide for adequate medical equipment, increase the number of
professional medical staff in all detention facilities, and ensure their independence and
impartiality;
(g)
Ensure, with a view to preventing the deterioration of their mental
faculties and social abilities that all persons deprived of their liberty, and in particular
prisoners serving life sentences, have access to meaningful activities and take measures
to integrate life-sentenced prisoners into the general prison population.
Detention in Labour Treatment Facilities (LTPs)
23.
The Committee notes that the situation of around 8000 people detained in eight
manual Labour Treatment Profilactorium for the Alcohol and Drug-addicts (LTPs) without
having had to commit any crime is particularly worrisome, in particular given the fact that
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