Dear readers,
for four consecutive years we have published the Report on the Performance of Activities of
the National Preventive Mechanism, an overview of the situation and the activities in the field
of prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in
Croatia. This implies protection of persons deprived of their liberty or those who have been
subjected to any kind of detention or placement into a facility under public supervision, which
they are not allowed to leave on their own accord.
With that objective in mind, we investigate individual complaints and act preventively, by
means of visits of the NPM, which has been our competence since 2012 pursuant to the Act on
National Preventive Mechanism for Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Assessment of the situation regarding the rights of persons deprived of their liberty in 2015
again revealed an encouraging fact – during the investigative procedures and visits we found
no treatment or conditions that could represent torture or inhuman treatment. However, we
have found and responded to instances that could represent degrading treatment and violation
of constitutional and legal rights. Shortcomings mostly result from failure to comply with the
standards, inconsistent treatment caused by flawed normative framework as well as the lack
of resources.
The same as last year, the greatest concern is caused by insufficient quality and accessibility of
healthcare for persons deprived of their liberty, which is a result of the fact that it is not a part
of the public healthcare system, but rather it is organized under the competence of the Ministry
of Justice.
When it comes to complaints regarding accommodation conditions, a falling trend continues,
most likely as a result of reduced overcrowding. However, there is still need for further
improvements, not only in prisons, but also in police stations, psychiatric hospitals and homes
for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Last year we received a total of 191 complaints, which is slightly less than the previous year. At
the same time, we visited 62 locations in a total of 72 visits, which represents an increase of
227 percent compared to visits made in 2014, and for the first time they included homes for
the elderly and people with disabilities. As a result, we issued a total of 279 written
recommendations and warnings, 41 more than the year before. According to the data received
by the time of writing this Report, 40 percent of the recommendations and warnings have been
either implemented or are currently pending implementation.
During the refugee crisis in 2015, for more than 550 thousand refugees Croatia was mostly a
transit country, as very few applied for international protection. From the very beginning of the
crisis, several of our teams visited locations of refugees’ stay or transit and made a series of
verbal recommendations, many of which were promptly implemented. Croatia’s response to