European Committee against Torture (CPT) Publishes its Report to Poland

Burak Tahsin Bahce

28-02-2024

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence

On February 22nd, 2024, the Council of Europe`s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment  (CPT) published its report on its visit to Poland in 2022. The main subject of the report was to review the measures taken by the Polish authorities in response to the previous recommendations of the Committee. It paid particular attention to the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in police custody, foreign nationals detained in Border Guard establishments, remand prisoners, and forensic psychiatric patients. [1]

Although the Committee also shared its positive observations and developments in the report, it stated several important concerns, including those that remain despite previous long-standing recommendations. 

As to the police establishments, it reiterated that three fundamental rights (the rights of detained persons to notify a third party of their detention and to have access to both a lawyer and a doctor) should apply from the very outset of a person’s deprivation of liberty. It found, however, that, as in the past, these safeguards usually do not become effective from the outset of deprivation of liberty. 

Regarding the foreign nationals held under aliens’ legislation, the delegation noted the lack of any constructive, purposeful activities for detainees. It further found that their access to specialist medical and mental care is inadequate mainly due to a lack of specialist staff and long delays for external consultations. Moreover, the Committee observed that the legal assistance is left to various NGOs, and therefore recommended once more that the Polish authorities take the necessary steps to ensure that these foreign national detainees effectively benefit from legal assistance through all phases of the process. Importantly, it expressed its serious concerns about the use of restraint beds and recommended the Polish authorities to immediately end this usage in all facilities in the country. 

With regard to the prison establishments, the Committee highlighted matters signalled during a previous visit, on which no progress had been made. In this regard, it noted that the regime of remand prisoners remained extremely problematic. The concerns expressed  in the report included the length of their time spent in a locked cell without a meaningful activity (23 hours per day), insufficient practice of initial medical examination of newly arrived prisoners  despite some legislative amendments, practical restrictions on visits and phone calls frequently during their first month, and, even more seriously, the quasi-systematically restriction on their contact with their lawyers (in person or via telephone), particularly when they are granted free legal aid.  

As to the National Centre for the Prevention of Dissocial Behaviour, the Committee noted its positive observations regarding the overall treatment of the patients. It observed, however, that there was an exaggerated level of supervision that did not vary with the individual risk posed by each patient. The Centre has CCTV coverage of absolutely every area where patients lived, including in the toilets and showers. It considered this approach to be excessive and unacceptable, even more so in the case of female patients, whose genitals are pixelated by CCTV footage, but who often can be watched by male security guards as they move into and from the toilet/shower areas. The Committee further expressed its view on that as “amounting to degrading treatment”. Given that a draft amendment procedure to the relevant act is ongoing, the Committee stated that these works “should be the opportunity to fundamentally alter the Centre’s purpose from one based on security to one based on rehabilitation, implying proper preparation for release in cooperation with the relevant structures in the outside community.”

The Committee is a non-judicial body established grounded on the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It visits European countries, monitors relevant facilities based on several tools and standards, and issues recommendations and follow-up visits. Its reports and recommendations, therefore, also give a comprehensive picture of respective European standards. [2] It has, very recently, carried out ad hoc visits to Turkey and Lithuania. The reports on these visits are expected to be published in the upcoming months.   

Sources and further readings:

[1] Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment  (CPT), Report to the Polish Government on the visit to Poland, CPT/Inf (2024) 10 (February 2024), < 1680ae9529 (coe.int)> accessed on 28 February 2024.

[2] For the CPT’s reference texts, standards, and tools, see <CPT resources - CPT (coe.int)> accessed on 28 February 2024.