CAT/OP/CRI/ROSP/1
needs of young people, by improving the conditions of detention and the occupational
activities offered at the Zurquí centre;
(c)
Prohibit collective punishment, restrictions regarding visits and the use of
solitary confinement for young detainees, as provided for by law. Any restriction of the
rights of children and adolescents deprived of their liberty must be the consequence of
a disciplinary procedure in which due process is observed;
(d)
Improve access to medical and psychological care, while ensuring
confidentiality, and introduce wide-ranging measures to prevent self-harm.
D.
Psychiatric centres
95.
The Subcommittee welcomed the paradigm shift that has occurred in the
administration of mental health: now, only acute patients are institutionalized and, once they
are stable, they are referred to the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, which
places them in a residence. Before admission to a psychiatric hospital, a patient is evaluated
by a forensic psychiatrist and the case is referred to a judge who is competent to decide
whether or not the patient should be admitted. The Subcommittee is nevertheless concerned
that there have been no forensic doctors specializing in psychiatry in the State party since
December 2018.
96.
The Subcommittee recalls the urgent need to establish a forensic service
specializing in psychiatry, without which it is not possible to review security measures
(Code of Criminal Procedure, arts. 98, 100 and 487) or to take decisions regarding cases
of incapacity or diminished capacity or the need to commit a person.
97.
According to the information provided by the medical personnel, if a patient claims
to have been subjected to ill-treatment, a preliminary administrative investigation is initiated
and, if the patient so requests, the complaint is referred to the Attorney General’s Office. This
raised concerns for the Subcommittee, given that such situations involve patients with mental
illnesses.
98.
The Subcommittee recommends that an action protocol be developed for cases
involving crimes committed against patients with mental illness and that the protocol
include the obligation, where appropriate, to refer related complaints immediately to
the Attorney General’s Office.
99.
In 2011, the Centre for Persons with Mental Illness in Conflict with the Law was
moved to a former textile factory. The Subcommittee noted that the Centre, which has
different wards for convicted prisoners and for suspects, is designed more for containment
than for rehabilitation, and that patients are guarded by prison police. At the time of the
delegation’s visit, the centre’s capacity was 90 people, but it was currently accommodating
111. Since it was a former factory, there were no partitions and patients lacked privacy; there
was, moreover, scant natural light. Patients were allowed outside for one hour every day, on
a paved road behind the centre. The sole activities on offer were inside sports (as there was
no dedicated outdoor space) and television. According to the institution’s authorities, in early
2019, three cell blocks designed especially for patients in conflict with the law will be
available within the National Psychiatric Hospital.
100.
The Subcommittee recommends:
(a)
That the wards in the psychiatric hospital be made ready as soon as
possible, so that patients with mental illnesses in conflict with the law may enjoy
adequate living conditions;
(b)
That the necessary measures be adopted to ensure that patients with
mental illnesses who are in conflict with the law are offered occupational therapy and
educational activities.
16
GE.21-00153
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