Report on the Performance of the Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2019
person is in police detention. Although in most police stations, video surveillance does not cover the
sanitary facilities, in some it does, which harms an arrested or detained person's right to privacy.
The Varaždin BPS has no rooms of its own for holding irregular migrants, so it uses the premises of
the Ivanec PS, which are inadequate to accommodate large groups, and neither does the Varaždin
CPA Detention unit have its own space, so it most frequently uses the premises of the Varaždin and
other police stations within its jurisdiction. However, the rooms in the Varaždin PS are too small, and
often smell unpleasantly of excrement.
The Koprivnica-Križevci CPA Detention unit has three rooms that are tidy, however, the floors are
tiled with breakable tiles, which is contrary to the Standards. They are equipped with a concrete
bench, rubberized mattress and blankets, and contain a sanitary facility without direct access to
drinking water. Persons held in custody at the Koprivnica-Križevci CPA can use the shower, while the
building is surrounded with an open-air area where prisoners can spend time in fresh air. Some
police stations have no vehicles for transporting people deprived of their liberty, or use old ones,
which do not have functioning ventilation and heating systems. CPT standards provide that all
transport vehicles need to be clean, well-lit and ventilated, and have adequate heating.
The rights of persons deprived of their liberty
Access to procedural guarantees within the first hours after being deprived of liberty by the police
is important, as it ensures a fair trial, in line with article 6 of the ECHR, and is also the most effective
means of preventing torture and other forms of violence. According to CPT standards, such
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guarantees include the right to an attorney, a doctor, and to inform a family member or a third
party, and, keeping in mind their significance, we submitted our opinion on the Draft amendments
to the Criminal Procedure Act to the Human Rights Committee.
The amended CPA now provides for temporary free legal aid (FLA) for all arrested persons, but not
for all suspects – only those suspected of criminal offences that carry a minimum sentence of more
than five years' imprisonment, which is not entirely in line with Directive 2016/1919/EU and the
opinion we submitted. The directive requires that FLA is made available to everyone, allowing
additional checks only in regard to determine individual's financial status, that is, to verify that a
person is truly unable to pay for legal representation. During our visits, before the CPA amendments
came into force, we established that arrested persons rarely call an attorney, and that most waive
their right to legal representation during the proceedings.
The CPA still only stipulates the right to emergency medical care (EMC), leading to some CPAs
having to pay for EMC services' arrival when it turns out the case was not an emergency, despite
good cooperation. Although police stations do guarantee the right to access to a doctor while in
police detention, it is not good that police officers carry out the first assessment of urgency.
According to CPT standards, the right to a medical examination consists of more than providing
urgent medical care, involving also the right to care by a doctor without limitation, denials or
discretionary decisions by the police whether it is truly necessary. Equally, the UN Principles for the
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