CPT: 12TH GENERAL REPORT 7. The main purpose of the ad hoc visit to Spain was to examine the efficacy in practice of the formal legal safeguards against ill-treatment which are available to persons deprived of their liberty by the law enforcement agencies. The delegation reviewed the action being taken by the Spanish authorities to implement the CPT's previous recommendations on this subject. It also examined the internal accountability procedures of the National Police and the Civil Guard in cases involving allegations of illtreatment by members of those agencies. Further, the delegation interviewed a number of persons recently detained by the National Police and the Civil Guard on suspicion of terrorist-related offences. 8. In the course of the visit to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, the CPT’s delegation examined the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the law enforcement agencies; earlier in 2001 this issue had already been the subject of highlevel talks in Skopje between the CPT and the national authorities. The delegation visited several police establishments and also interviewed a considerable number of persons who had recently been in police custody. In addition, the delegation reviewed specific police-related issues which had been the subject of recommendations following the CPT's first visit to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, and examined the efficacy of existing legal remedies in cases involving allegations of ill-treatment. 9. The steps being taken by the Turkish authorities to introduce smaller living units for prisoners and the repercussions they have had - the ongoing hunger strike campaign and the prison interventions of December 2000 - have been at the centre of the CPT’s activities in recent times. The two ad hoc visits to Turkey in 2001 focussed on this issue, which was also one of the main themes of the periodic visit organised later in the year. It should be stressed once again that the CPT has no fundamental objections to the Turkish authorities’ plans; large capacity dormitories of the kind commonly found in Turkish prisons are for a variety of reasons not a satisfactory means of accommodating inmates. However, the Committee has also repeatedly emphasised that moves towards smaller living units for prisoners - such as those found in the new F-type prisons - must be accompanied by measures to ensure that prisoners spend a reasonable part of the day engaged in a programme of communal activities outside their living units; a generalised system of small group isolation would not be acceptable to the CPT. 9 F-type prisons do possess areas specifically designed for communal activities, and the Turkish authorities have made legislative changes which make it possible for all categories of prisoners to participate in activity programmes in those areas. Other very welcome prison reforms have also been introduced, such as measures to enhance prisoners’ contacts with the outside world and to establish prison monitoring boards and sentence enforcement judges. The CPT continues to monitor closely the practical implementation of all these reforms, with a view to ensuring that their full potential is realised. For a situation of small-group isolation to be avoided, prisoners must themselves be willing to leave their living units and take advantage of what is on offer. The unwillingness to participate in the communal activities available which has to date been displayed by most prisoners covered by the Law to Fight Terrorism is obviously not facilitating the task of the Turkish authorities. In this context, the CPT has welcomed the steps recently taken to introduce the additional activity of regular association (conversation) periods for up to 10 prisoners. However, it has also recommended that the existing precondition for enjoying this activity be dropped; all prisoners should be eligible for the conversation periods, irrespective of whether they already take part in another communal activity. The CPT believes that for many prisoners, participation in such conversation periods could well prove the crucial first step in winning their confidence and encouraging them to engage in the other communal activities available. 10. Looking to the future, periodic visits to States are explicitly foreseen by the Convention and they will certainly remain an important feature of the CPT’s activities. They provide the opportunity to establish a solid basis for cooperation with national authorities on a range of matters falling within the Committee’s mandate. However, the current length of such visits will most probably be reduced in the future, especially as regards countries which have already received several periodic visits. The CPT’s overall aim is to achieve a better balance between the different types of visits it organises, dividing the number of visit days in a given year more evenly between periodic and ad hoc visits. The trend towards an increasing number of short and very targeted visits carried out by small delegations will continue. More specifically, the CPT has every intention of enhancing its capacity to react rapidly to events as they happen, and ensure a physical presence on the spot when emergency situations arise.