CAT/OP/CHE/ROSP/1
156. Consequently, the Subcommittee recommends that the State party review article
64 (1) bis of the Criminal Code in the light of these comments and consider the
advisability of repealing it.
B.
Field visits
157. The Subcommittee visited the following establishments housing persons sentenced to
therapeutic measures or indefinite detention: Pöschwies Prison, which had a section reserved
for convicted prisoners subject to measures under article 59 of the Criminal Code; Bochuz
Prison; and the Rheinau psychiatric clinic in the Canton of Zurich.
1.
Pöschwies Prison
158. At Pöschwies, 28 inmates were undergoing inpatient treatment under article 59 of the
Criminal Code, including 18 in the section reserved for therapeutic measures; the 10
remaining inmates were in ordinary detention.55
159. The average length of treatment was around five years, after which inmates were
switched to an open regime.
160. The section reserved for therapeutic measures had a well-staffed, qualified treatment
team and offered tailored care encompassing a wide range of therapeutic and psychosocial
rehabilitation measures, including compulsory work.56 The psychologists and social workers
from that section also monitored inmates subject to measures under article 59 of the Criminal
Code who were being held in ordinary detention.
161. There were also 28 inmates in indefinite detention under article 64 of the Criminal
Code and 1 in lifelong detention under article 64 (1) bis. Many of those inmates were older
persons; some had no mental illness, while others had severe psychiatric disorders and had
been declared untreatable or had been subject to measures under article 59 of the Criminal
Code, which had failed.
162. They were monitored by the prison’s general medical team and received no special
care.
163. It emerged from interviews with the inmates that the most difficult aspect of their
situation was the uncertainty as to the period for which they would be subject to the measures
and what was expected of them.57
2.
Bochuz Prison
164. At Bochuz, 22 inmates were undergoing treatment under article 59 of the Criminal
Code, of whom 8 were housed in the psychiatric unit, 13 were in ordinary detention and 1
was in strict solitary confinement for safety reasons.
55
56
57
GE.21-03779
Ces 10 personnes étaient en attente d’intégrer le secteur réservé, mises à l’écart pour avoir enfreint le
règlement intérieur, en fin de traitement et en attente de transfert, ou dépourvues d’indication de prise
en charge.
Les 25 professionnels se répartissaient ainsi : 13 relevant du service de psychiatrie et de psychologie
de l’office cantonal (section des traitements au titre de l’article 59 du Code pénal), soit un
psychologue chef de service, 4 psychologues, 2 infirmiers psychiatriques et 6 collaborateurs ; et 12
relevant de l’administration pénitentiaire, soit 2 assistants sociaux, 2 membres du personnel
pénitentiaire formés au travail social et 8 collaborateurs. Les consultations psychiatriques (une fois
par semaine) et de médecine générale étaient assurées par le dispositif de l’unité sanitaire de la prison.
Ainsi, un homme condamné initialement à une peine d’emprisonnement de onze ans était incarcéré
depuis vingt-quatre ans, soumis à un internement au titre de l’article 64 du Code pénal décidé en fin
de peine sur la base d’expertises psychiatriques. Lors des réexamens périodiques, « on lui reprochait
de ne pas se soigner assez » mais, selon lui, dans les prisons où il était incarcéré, « il n’y avait pas de
prise en charge thérapeutique, seulement des tranquillisants ». Néanmoins, depuis cinq ans, il faisait
l’objet des mesures relevant de l’article 59 du Code pénal et espérait pouvoir aller dans une structure
ouverte. Il estimait avoir eu la chance qu’une psychiatre experte, au lieu de renouveler son statut sans
se poser de questions, ait étudié son dossier et soit parvenue à d’autres conclusions.
21
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