M on i to r i n g P r i s o n V io le nce -A Handbook for National Preventive Mechanisms- AUTHORS This Handbook was written by Philipp Hamedl and Giuliana Monina of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights. The Handbook was developed in the framework of the EU Project ‘Improving judicial cooperation across the EU through harmonised detention standards - the role of National Preventive Mechanisms’ implemented by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (Austria), in cooperation with the Associazione Antigone (Italy), the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (Bulgaria) and Hungarian Helsinki Committee (Hungary). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Project team would like to thank all NPMs representatives and other stakeholders who participated in the consultations conducted in the framework of this Project. We greatly appreciate their commitment and engagement. Our most sincere gratitude goes also to all the members of the External Advisory Board, Dirk van Zyl Smit, Wolfgang Gratz, Nora Sveaass, the Association for the Prevention of Torture, and Alison Liebling. A special thank you to Alison Liebling, who has reviewed this draft and provided precious inputs and comments, as well as to Moritz Birk and Walter Suntinger, who were consulted by the authors throughout the Project providing invaluable feedback and advice. The authors are also indebted to numerous research fellows and interns who have supported the Project, especially Laura Stelzer and Doha Nasr. Thank you also to Maria Natalia Bueno Torres for the layout and designs. Their inputs, contributions and feedback have greatly improved this publication. Vienna, March 2021