Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2015 I. PERSONS DEPRIVED OF THEIR LIBERTY AND THE FUNCTIONING OF THE NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM 1. INTRODUCTION Persons can be deprived of their liberty or their freedom of movement can be restricted (hereinafter, protection of persons deprived of liberty shall be deemed to include persons whose freedom of movement is restricted) in various systems: prison, police, military, social welfare, healthcare and the system for applicants for international protection and irregular migrants. The Ombudswoman protects the rights of persons deprived of their liberty in two ways: by handling individual complaints and by preventive action, which involves visits of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). In 2015, we received 191 complaints and visited 62 locations in 72 NPM visits. 2. PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS DEPRIVED OF THEIR LIBERTY BY ACTING ON COMPLAINTS The Ombudswoman received complaints from prisoners, persons with mental disorders or members of their families and those deprived of liberty in police stations, asylum seekers reception centres and Foreigners Reception Centre. The number of complaints filed by persons deprived of liberty who were in the prison system in 2015 (165) is 0.7% smaller when compared to the previous year, which means that the trend of reduction of that number continues, whereas on the other hand, the number of complaints filed by persons with mental disorders is increasing. Number of complaints filed by persons in the prison system 219 200 178 Presentation of increase in complaints filed by persons with mental disorders 165 10 2012 2013 2014 2015 2013 17 2014 26 2015 While accommodation conditions in the prison system were the biggest problem according to the number of complaints in previous years, in 2014 and 2015 most of the complaints were connected with healthcare. In addition to these two problems, prisoners also complained with regard to efficiency of judicial protection, actions of judicial police and violation of their right to contact with the outside world. When it comes to persons with mental disorders, their complaints mostly pertained to involuntary hospitalization and performance of medical procedures without freely given consent. 1