Places visited by the National Preventive Mechanism in 2011 The analysis of this issue gave rise to a general motion of the Human Rights Defender, submitted to the Police Commander in Chief on 12 May 201196. In the response of 16 June 201197, the Police Commander in Chief assured the Defender that a change in presenting the Rules of procedure to detainees would be one of legislative tasks related to the amendment of the Ordinance on the rooms within the Police organisational units for detained persons or persons brought to sober up and of the regulations governing the stay in those rooms. During their visits, the NPM’s representatives also revealed that persons who were under the influence of alcohol at the moment of detention were not informed about their three basic rights, i.e., the right to notify persons close to them about the detention, the right to file complaint, and the right to get help of an attorney. The National Preventive Mechanism is of the opinion that when detained persons, due to alcoholic intoxication, cannot be advised of their rights by the detaining officers, the obligation to inform them about their basic rights is transferred to PDR’s officers, who should fulfilled this duty immediately when verbal contact with the detainee becomes possible. Otherwise, the broadly understood right of detained persons to information about their legal rights is violated. Summing up the issue of the right to information about the rights of persons detained in PDRs, the National Preventive Mechanism would like to remind the position of the CPT expressed in its 12th General Report: Rights for persons deprived of their liberty will be of little value if the persons concerned are unaware of their existence98. Managements of the visited PDRs committed themselves – in response to post-visit reports – to remind Police officers of their basic obligation to advise persons detained and placed in PDRs about their rights. Following the visit, the National Preventive Mechanism recommended: • To unconditionally comply with the obligation of detaining Police officers to inform detained persons about their rights in such situation; • To unconditionally comply with the obligation of Police officers on duty in PDRs to inform persons detained and placed in PDRs about the rights they have while staying there; • Police officers on duty in PDRs, to inform persons detained and placed in PDRs under the influence of alcohol about their rights in such situation; • To change the manner of presenting the Rules of procedure to persons detained in PDRs. d) Right of detained persons to notify persons close to them about the situation During the visits in PDRs in Police organisational units, the employees of the National Preventive Mechanism checked during the interviews with detainees the realisation of their right to demand that third persons be notified of their detention and stay in a PDR. In the  RPO-668208– VII-720.6/11.  EKO-4097/3392/11.  See: para. 44 in CPT/Inf (2002)15. 96 97 98 59