Annual Report 2010 by the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture
to the public prosecutor’s office and, as the case may be, to the relevant consular
office. In such cases the detainee must be released or brought before the public
prosecutor’s office within 24 hours. It is also envisaged that the guardian or
person with parental responsibility should be present when the statement of the
juvenile under arrest is taken (with the child protection officer acting in their
stead when those persons cannot be located). The detainee must be held in
custody in suitable establishments separate from those used for adults, and must
“receive such care, protection and social, psychological, medical and physical
care as may be required”.
Passive extradition
38. The particular type of criminal arrest envisaged in Article 8 of Act
is another form
4/1985 of March 21 on Passive Extradition must be highlighted: it stipulates
of criminal arrest
that persons must be detained and brought before the courts within 24
hours when requested, in line with certain requirements, by the state that
requests extradition.
Art. 55.2 of the
Article 55.2 of the Constitution also establishes the possibility that certain
Constitution limits rights
constitutional rights may be limited, which is relevant here insofar as refers to the
involving maximum
detention time and secrecy
of communications
maximum period of detention (Art. 17.2) and secrecy of communications (Art.
18.2) for persons linked to the investigation of actions by armed groups and
in cases of membership of
terrorists. Articles 520 bis and 527 of the LECRIM contain special features of this
armed groups and
form of arrest and stipulate that incommunicado detention must be ratified by
terrorism. Art. 520.2 and
the courts, specifically by the central investigating magistrates of the National
527 of the LECRIM
regulate specific aspects of
this type of arrest.
High Court [Audiencia Nacional]; any request for extension of detention periods
and incommunicado detention involving juveniles aged under 14 must be filed
by the Juveniles Section of the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the National High
Court and ruled on by the Central Juvenile Court Judge [Juez Central de Menores]
(Art. 17.4 LORPM).
Other forms of detention
39. Another important form of detention is that covered by Article 61.1.(d) of
include those affecting the
the Foreign Nationals Act [Ley de Extranjería], as a precautionary measure in
status of foreign nationals
the context of sanctions procedures that may entail expulsion. Deprivation of
liberty may also be considered for foreign nationals who are deemed not to meet
the requirements for admission (Art. 26.2 & 60 of the Aliens Act) with a view to
ensuring that they are returned as soon as possible. Similarly, Article 22 of Act
12/2009 of October 30, dealing with the right of asylum and subsidiary protection,
establishes that asylum seekers must be held in facilities provided for that purpose
while requests filed at the border undergo the process of admission.
44
THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN
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