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Relatórios apresentados no quadro do Conselho
da Europa e Decisões do Comité de Ministros
sobre a Aplicação da Carta Social Europeia
Report to the Portuguese
Government on the visit to Portugal carried out by the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT), from 19 to 27 January 1992
The Portuguese Government has agreed to
the publication of the CPT's report on its visit to Portugal,
together with its Response.
CONTENTS
Copy of the letter transmitting
the CPT's report
Preface
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Dates of the visit
and composition of the delegation
B. Establishments visited
C. Consultations held by the delegation
D. Co-operation encountered during the visit
E. Legal framework
II. FACTS FOUND DURING
THE VISIT AND ACTION PROPOSED
A. Police establishments
1. General information
2. Torture and other forms of ill-treatment
3. Conditions of detention in the police
establishments visited
a) introduction
b) situation in the establishments visited
c) action proposed
4. Safeguards against the ill-treatment
of persons detained by the police
a) introduction
b) notification of custody to a close relative or third
party
c) access to a lawyer
d) medical examinations of detained persons
e) information on rights
f) conduct of police interviews
g) procedures vis-à-vis allegations of ill-treatment
B. Prisons
1. General information
2. Torture and physical ill-treatment
3. Solitary confinement
4. Conditions of detention in general
a) Lisbon Judicial Police Group Prison
i) material conditions of detention
ii) regime
b) Linhó Prison
i) material conditions of detention
ii) regime
iii) the inactive population
iv) staffing levels at night
c) Vale de Judeus Prison
i) material conditions
ii) regime
d) Alfeite Naval Prison
5. Medical services
in the three civil prisons visited
a) staffing levels
b) psychiatric/psychological services
c) medical screening on reception
d) night and weekend cover
e) suicide and self-harm
f) other matters
6. Other issues
related to the CPT's mandate
a) discipline
b) complaints and inspection procedures
c) food
d) contact with the outside world
e) call systems
f) access to toilet facilities
III. RECAPITULATION
AND CONCLUSIONS
A. Police establishments
B. Prisons
C. Action on the CPT's recommendations,
comments and requests for information
APPENDIX 1
- SUMMARY OF THE CPT'S RECOMMENDATIONS, COMMENTS AND REQUESTS
FOR INFORMATION
APPENDIX 2
- LIST OF THE NATIONAL AUTHORITIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
WITH WHICH THE DELEGATION HELD CONSULTATIONS
APPENDIX 3
- LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Copy of the letter
transmitting the CPT's report
Strasbourg, 27 October 1992
Dear Mr Santana Carlos,
In pursuance of Article 10, paragraph
1, of the European Convention for the prevention of torture
and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, I have the
honour to enclose herewith the report to the Portuguese Government
drawn up by the European Committee for the prevention of torture
and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CPT) after
its visit to Portugal from 19 to 27 January 1992. The report
was adopted by consensus by the CPT at its fourteenth meeting,
held from 28 September to 2 October 1992.
I would draw your attention in particular
to paragraph 167 of the report, in which the CPT requests
the Portuguese authorities to provide an interim and a follow-up
report on action taken upon its report. The CPT would be most
grateful if it were possible, in the event of the reports
forwarded being in Portuguese, for them to be accompanied
by an English or French translation.
More generally, the CPT is keen to establish
an ongoing dialogue with the Portuguese authorities on matters
of mutual interest, in the spirit of the principle of co-operation
set out in Article 3 of the Convention. Consequently, any
other communication that the Portuguese authorities might
wish to make would also be most welcome.
I am at your entire disposal if you have
any questions concerning either the CPT's report or the future
procedure.
Finally, I would be grateful if you could
acknowledge receipt of this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Antonio CASSESE
President of the European Committee for
the prevention of torture and inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment
Mr António SANTANA CARLOS
Director of Multilateral Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Largo do Rilvas
P - 1354 LISBOA CODEX
Preface
As the European Committee for the prevention
of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
is a new institution, knowledge of its mandate and functions
is inevitably limited. The CPT has therefore deemed it appropriate
to begin the first of its reports to each Party by setting
out some of the Committee's salient features. This should
prove particularly helpful in differentiating the basis and
aims of the CPT from those of two other Council of Europe
supervisory bodies within the field of human rights: the European
Commission and European Court of Human Rights.
Unlike the Commission and the Court, the
CPT is not a judicial body empowered to settle legal disputes
concerning alleged violations of treaty obligations (i.e.
to determine claims ex post facto).
The CPT is first and foremost a mechanism
designed to prevent ill-treatment from occurring, although
it may also in special cases intervene after the event.
Consequently, whereas the Commission's
and Court's activities aim at "conflict solution"
on the legal level, the CPT's activities aim at "conflict
avoidance" on the practical level.
This being so, the guiding maxim for the
CPT when performing its obligations must be to "extend
the widest possible protection against abuses, whether physical
or mental" (quotation from the 1979 UN Code of conduct
for law enforcement officials as well as from the 1988 Body
of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any
Form of Detention or Imprisonment, both adopted by the General
Assembly).
The CPT's activities are based on the
concept of co-operation (Article 3 of the European Convention
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment). The CPT's task is not to publicly criticise
States, but rather to assist them in finding ways to strengthen
the "cordon sanitaire" that separates acceptable
and unacceptable treatment or behaviour. In fulfilling this
task the CPT is guided by the following three principles:
i) that the prohibition of ill-treatment
of persons deprived of their liberty is absolute,
ii) that ill-treatment is repugnant
to the principles of civilised conduct, even if used in
milder forms, and
iii) that ill-treatment is not only
harmful to the victim but also degrading for the official
who inflicts or authorises it and ultimately harmful to
the national authorities in general.
The CPT first of all explores the prevailing
factual situation in the countries it visits. In particular
it:
i) examines the general conditions in
establishments visited;
ii) observes the attitude of law enforcement
officials and other staff towards persons deprived of their
liberty;
iii) interviews persons deprived of
their liberty in order to understand how they perceive i)
and ii) and hear any specific grievances they may have;
iv) examines the legal and administrative
framework on which the deprivation of liberty is based.
Subsequently, the CPT reports to the State
concerned, giving its assessment of all the information gathered
and providing its observations. In this regard, it should
be recalled that the CPT does not have the power to confront
persons expressing opposing views or to take evidence under
oath. If necessary, it recommends measures designed to prevent
the possible occurrence of treatment that is contrary to what
reasonably could be considered as acceptable standards for
dealing with persons deprived of their liberty.
In carrying out its functions, the CPT
has the right to avail itself of legal standards contained
in not only the European Convention on Human Rights but also
in a number of other relevant human rights instruments (and
the interpretation of them by the human rights organs concerned).
At the same time, it is not bound by the case law of judicial
or quasi-judicial bodies acting in the same field, but may
use it as a point of departure or reference when assessing
the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in individual
countries.
To sum up, the principal differences between
the CPT and the European Commission and European Court of
Human Rights are:
i) the Commission and the Court have
as their primary goal ascertaining whether breaches of the
European Convention of Human Rights have occurred. By contrast,
the CPT's task is to prevent abuses, whether physical or
mental, of persons deprived of their liberty from occurring;
it has its eyes on the future rather than the past;
ii) the Commission and Court have substantive
treaty provisions to apply and interpret. The CPT is not
bound by substantive treaty provisions, although it may
refer to a number of treaties, other international instruments
and the case law formulated thereunder;
iii) given the nature of their functions,
the Commission and the Court consist of lawyers specialising
in the field of human rights. The CPT consists not only
of such lawyers but also of medical doctors, experts in
penitentiary questions, criminologists, etc;
iv) the Commission and Court only intervene
after having been petitioned through applications from individuals
or States. The CPT intervenes ex officio through periodic
or ad hoc visits;
v) the activities of the Commission
and Court culminate in a legally binding finding as to whether
a State has breached its obligations under a treaty. The
CPT's findings result in a report and, if necessary, recommendations
and other advice, on the basis of which a dialogue can develop;
in the event of a State failing to comply with the CPT's
recommendations, the CPT may issue a public statement on
the matter.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Dates of the
visit and composition of the delegation
1. In pursuance of Article 7 of the
European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment (hereinafter referred
to as "the Convention"), a delegation of the CPT
carried out a visit to Portugal from 19 to 27 January 1992.
The visit formed part of the CPT's programme of periodic
visits for 1992.
2. The delegation consisted of the following
members of the Committee:
- Michael MELLETT, Head of the delegation;
- Petros MICHAELIDES;
- Ergun ÖZBUDUN;
- Stefan TERLEZKI.
The delegation was assisted by:
- Ole Vedel RASMUSSEN, Surgeon at
Bispebjerg Hospital, Denmark (expert);
- Silvia CAMILO (interpreter);
- Melanie ROE (interpreter);
- Kathryn TEIXEIRA DINIZ (interpreter);
- Helen WALKER (interpreter).
The delegation was also accompanied
by the following members of the CPT's Secretariat:
- Mr Trevor STEVENS, Secretary of
the Committee;
- Mr Mark KELLY.
B. Establishments
visited
3. The delegation visited the following
places of detention:
Alcoentre
- Vale de Judeus Prison
Almada
- Headquarters of the National Republican
Guard
- Almada Division of the Public Security Police
- Alfeite Naval Prison
Lisbon
- Headquarters of the Judicial Police
- Headquarters of the Public Security Police
- Public Security Police Station at Praça da Alegria
- Judicial Police Group Prison
Santarem
- Headquarters of the Public Security
Police
- Headquarters of the National Republican Guard
Sintra
- Public Security Police Station at
Rua Dr Guilherme Fernandes
- Linhó Prison.
In addition, a number of prisoners
were interviewed at the Prison Hospital in Caxias.
C. Consultations
held by the delegation
4. The delegation held consultations
with the national authorities and with representatives of
non-governmental organisations active in the CPT's fields
of interest, in addition to talks at local level with those
responsible for the places visited.
A list of the authorities and organisations
with which the delegation held talks is set out in Appendix
2 to this report.
D. Co-operation encountered
during the visit
5. The talks held by the delegation
with the national authorities were conducted in a spirit
of full co-operation. The delegation was received by both
the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Interior;
further, the Minister of Health made known that he was ready
to meet the delegation, if appropriate in the light of its
programme. The delegation also met with the Minister for
Defence Procurement and had a fruitful exchange of views
with the two Deputy Ombudsmen, Messrs. Silveira and Vaz
Serra.
In addition, both at the outset and
at the end of the visit, the delegation had a joint meeting
with the liaison officers appointed by the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs, Justice, the Interior, Defence and Health.
Those meetings provided a useful forum in which to exchange
information and to settle practical aspects of the visit.
Reference should also be made to the
credentials/identity documents provided to members of the
delegation by the appropriate Ministries; these served to
facilitate considerably the work of the delegation during
the visit.
6. At local level the delegation received
a satisfactory reception at all of the places visited, including
those which had not been notified in advance that a visit
would take place. In particular, the delegation experienced
no significant delays in gaining access to the establishments
visited. It was observed that both managerial and subordinate
staff were aware of the possibility of a visit by the CPT
and had some knowledge of the mandate of the delegation.
7. Notwithstanding the general spirit
of co-operation, one particular situation encountered at
Vale de Judeus Prison, Alcoentre, is of concern to the CPT.
The establishment's Security Unit was empty at the time
of the visit, four prisoners who had been held there having
been transferred on 18 January 1992 (i.e. the day before
the start of the delegation's visit to Portugal), three
to the Prison Hospital at Caxias and the other to one of
the ordinary wings in the prison.
The delegation examined the custody
records concerning the Security Unit, which showed that
it was extremely rare for the Unit to be empty. The delegation
also examined the records of the prisoners concerned at
Vale de Judeus and at the Prison Hospital, and spoke to
staff in both establishments about the prisoners. Normal
procedures for transfers to the Prison Hospital had apparently
not been followed, and the hospital's staff were at a loss
to explain the reasons for the decision to transfer them.
From the information gathered, the delegation was led to
conclude that the prisoners had been transferred because
of its visit. The CPT regards this as a negation of true
co-operation.
E. Legal framework
8. A summary of some of the legal provisions
in Portugal which relate to the prevention of torture and
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons
deprived of their liberty is to be found in Appendix 3.
II. FACTS FOUND DURING
THE VISIT AND ACTION PROPOSED
A. Police establishements
1. General information
9. The delegation visited establishments
under the control of three distinct police forces in Portugal:
the Judicial Police (Polícia Judiciária -P.J.),
which is accountable to the Ministry of Justice and responsible
for the investigation of serious crimes at a national level;
the Public Security Police (Polícia de Segurança
Publica - PSP) and the National Republican Guard (Guarda
Nacional Republicana - GNR), which are accountable to the
Ministry of the Interior and responsible for the maintenance
of law and order in, respectively, urban and rural areas.
10. As indicated in the legal framework
(cf. Appendix 3, paragraph 4), the maximum period during
which persons may be detained by the police prior to a judicial
hearing is 48 hours. The purpose of this first hearing is
to determine whether detention without judicial charge should
be continued. If it is continued (remand in custody), the
person concerned is placed in a prison establishment.
11. Detention without judicial charge
may last for up to sixteen months, depending upon the nature
of the crime and the complexity of the investigation required
(cf. section 215 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). In
terms of the Code of Criminal Procedure, investigations
during the period before judicial charge are to be conducted
by the Public Prosecutor's Office. However, section 144(2)
of the Code provides that such investigations, "may
be conducted by a criminal investigation department to which
the Public Prosecutor's Office or the investigating judge
has delegated competence therefor." In practice this
provision has been supplemented by Attorney General's Circular
8/87, which represents a general delegation of investigatory
powers from the Public Prosecutor to the Judicial Police.
In the Lisbon, Oporto and Coimbra districts the Judicial
Police thereby have competence to investigate "all
crimes reported to them or of which they have knowledge"
and outside those districts, "competence to investigate
crimes punishable with a maximum prison sentence of more
than three years".
2. Torture and
other forms of ill-treatment
12. The delegation spoke to many people
about their experiences whilst detained by the police; some
of them, for example those interviewed in the Judicial Police
Group Prison in Lisbon, had very recently been in police
custody.
13. The delegation heard numerous detailed
allegations of ill-treatment inflicted in establishments
of each of the three police forces referred to in paragraph
9. The principal form of ill-treatment alleged was physical
assault (including kicks, punches and blows with the butts
of pistols). In addition, the delegation heard some allegations
that detained persons were subjected to simultaneous blows
to both ears with telephone directories. Some isolated allegations
that detainees were beaten on the soles of their feet with
truncheons were also heard. It is also noteworthy that off-duty
policemen present in the police stations concerned were
on occasion alleged to be the perpetrators of such ill-treatment.
14. Several of the prisoners who made
such allegations were examined by the delegation's medical
expert and some of those examined displayed physical injuries
which were consistent with their allegations of ill-treatment.
By way of illustration, the CPT would
mention the case of a prisoner seen in the Judicial Police
Group Prison in Lisbon. He alleged that some three days
earlier he had been kicked, punched and hit with a truncheon
by police officers in a Public Security Police Station.
The prisoner was examined by the delegation's medical expert
and found to display injuries consistent with his allegations,
including a pronounced hematoma, measuring approximately
12cm, on the outside of his left shoulder and two parallel
lesions on the front of his left leg, just below the knee.
15. The existence of such ill-treatment
in police establishments was corroborated by representatives
of non-governmental organisations with which the delegation
held talks. The delegation also spoke with two judges to
whom detainees are presented immediately after a period
of police custody. They stated that they regularly encountered
cases of detainees who displayed injuries consistent with
ill-treatment by the police. However, most of the detainees
concerned were apparently reluctant to make a written statement
about the treatment they had received, out of concern that
it could prove to their detriment in the context of the
criminal proceedings being brought against them. The issue
of the ill-treatment of detainees was also raised with the
Deputy Ombudsmen, who indicated that the number of complaints
about such treatment - which had declined in recent years
- was beginning to rise again.
In the light of the information received
by its delegation during the visit to Portugal, the CPT
can only conclude that the ill-treatment of persons in police
custody is a relatively common phenomenon.
16. Portuguese law contains a number
of provisions penalising torture and other forms of ill-treatment
(cf. Appendix 3). Further, there is formal provision for
certain safeguards against ill-treatment (in particular
access to a lawyer). Later in this report the CPT will recommend
some reinforcements of those safeguards (see paragraph 36
et seq.). However, it should be emphasised that legal and
other technical safeguards - while important - will never
be sufficient; the best possible guarantee against ill-treatment
is for its use to be unequivocally rejected by law enforcement
officials. It follows that the provision of suitable education
on human rights questions and of adequate professional training
is an absolutely essential component of any strategy for
the prevention of ill-treatment. This is especially true
in a country such as Portugal, which in the fairly recent
past was governed by a dictatorial regime which at least
acquiesced in, if not favoured, resort to ill-treatment
by law enforcement officials.
17. The above-mentioned education and
professional training should exist at all levels of the
law enforcement hierarchy, and should be ongoing. It should
seek to put across and develop two points. First, that all
forms of ill-treatment are an affront to human dignity and
as such are fundamentally incompatible with the values enshrined
in the Portuguese Constitution as well as in many international
instruments ratified by and binding upon Portugal. Second,
that resort to ill-treatment is a grossly ineffective means
of combatting crime. Other interrogation and investigation
techniques, which respect human rights, are likely to lead
to better results from a security standpoint.
Further, particular attention should
be given to training in the art of handling, and more especially
of speaking to, persons in police custody i.e. interpersonal
communication skills. The possession of such skills will
often enable police officers to defuse situations which
might otherwise become violent.
18. In the light of the above remarks,
the CPT recommends:
- that a very high priority be given
to human rights education and professional training for
law enforcement officials of all ranks and categories. Experts
not belonging to the law enforcement agencies should be
involved in this education and training;
- that an aptitude for interpersonal
communication be a major factor in the process of recruiting
law enforcement officials and that, during the training
of such officials, considerable emphasis be placed on acquiring
and developing interpersonal communication skills;
- that senior law enforcement officials
be required to deliver to their subordinates the clear message
that the ill-treatment of detained persons is not acceptable
and will be dealt with severely.
19. The CPT would add that energetic
action to follow up complaints would have an important preventive
effect. In this respect the CPT would like to receive
up-to-date statistics on complaints about ill-treatment
made against the police together with information on action
taken on those complaints (number of complaints rejected,
cases pending, convictions, etc.).
The CPT also wishes to receive detailed
information about the precise procedure followed when such
complaints are submitted to a Public Prosecutor and, in
particular, about which agency is entrusted with carrying
out investigations into such allegations.
Furthermore, the CPT wishes to know
whether appropriate action can be taken upon information
received which suggests that ill-treatment has occurred,
even in the absence of a written statement by the alleged
victim. In this connection, the CPT's delegation was
informed that the prosecution of certain types of ill-treatment
was only possible on the basis of a formal complaint by
a private citizen.
3. Conditions
of detention in the police establishments visited
a) introduction
20. Custody by the police is of relatively
short duration. Consequently, physical conditions of detention
cannot be expected to be as good in police establishments
as in other places of detention where persons may be held
for lengthy periods. However, certain elementary material
requirements should be met.
21. All police cells should be of a
reasonable size for the number of persons they are used
to accommodate, and have adequate lighting (i.e. sufficient
to read by, sleeping periods excluded) and ventilation;
preferably, cells should enjoy natural light. Further, cells
should be equipped with a means of rest (e.g. a fixed chair
or bench), and persons obliged to stay overnight in custody
should be provided with a mattress and clean blankets.
Persons in custody should be allowed
to comply with the needs of nature when necessary in clean
and decent conditions, and be offered adequate washing facilities.
They should be given food at appropriate times, including
at least one full meal (i.e. something more substantial
than a sandwich) every day.
b) situation in the establishments
visited
22. Conditions of detention in the
establishments visited varied from relatively good to very
poor. The situation in the detention area of the Lisbon
Headquarters of the Public Security Police is of particular
concern to the CPT.
23. The Headquarters of the Public Security
Police in Lisbon are housed in a local government building
(the Governo Civil) in the city centre. The Headquarters
includes a police holding area for those arrested by the
PSP in the central Lisbon area. Those detained there have
normally been held for short periods in other PSP police
stations before being transferred to the Governo Civil.
Fourteen to fifteen people are held there during the course
of an average day.
At the beginning of its visit the delegation
was told that there were three large cells for men at a
sub-basement level and two for women on a level above. It
became apparent during the course of the visit that another
cell was in use on that latter level (cf. paragraph 26).
24. The delegation inspected a large
cell for men which measured approximately 30 m². It
contained seven beds with concrete bases and wooden tops.
The delegation was informed that male detainees are provided
with blankets, but not with mattresses. The cells received
no natural light and the artificial light was inadequate.
A second cell for men had similar characteristics. A third
section consisted of a suite of two rooms, each with a single
bed, which were divided by a sanitary annex. There was one
exterior door to this unit. The officers on duty said that
this accommodation provided a total of sixteen places.
25. On the floor above, the delegation
inspected the accommodation which was said to be for women.
The first cell was designed for occupancy by women with
children. It measured 22 m². The cell was divided into
three areas, one which had two beds with mattresses, a central
area which contained one bed, and a sanitary annex comprising
a lavatory and washbasin. The second cell for women was
smaller and contained four beds.
As with those for men, these cells did
not benefit from natural light and the artificial light
was inadequate.
26. At the end of the corri dor on this
upper floor, the delegation were shown another large cell.
This was very dirty and in an extremely poor state of repair.
A wooden platform which ran along one wall provided places
for three to four people to lie down.
The officers present stated that this
cell had not been in use for a long time - however, the
delegation drew their attention to graffiti of apparently
recent origin. It was then said that the cell had been used
in the previous week and that when used, it accommodated
men.
27. In short, the basement cells at
the Headquarters of the PSP in Lisbon offered very poor
conditions of detention. They were dirty and dilapidated
and had inadequate lighting facilities; moreover, they were
inadequately ventilated. Conditions in the cell for men
on the upper floor could fairly be described as squalid.
All of these matters need to be addressed
as a matter of urgency. However, it might also be asked
whether the Public Security Police could not find better
premises for their main holding area in Lisbon.
28. Conditions in the detention area
of the Headquarters of the National Republican Guard in
Almada were on the whole acceptable, albeit somewhat austere.
They benefitted from adequate natural and artificial lighting
and the sanitary facilities were satisfactory. The premises
as a whole were clean. Mattresses and blankets were apparently
provided to detainees.
However, when visited, the inside temperature
was rather low and it was not clear whether there was satisfactory
heating in the area.
29. The Almada Division of the Public
Security Police possessed two cells each measuring approximately
6m². The delegation was informed that a maximum of
two prisoners were held in each cell and that no prisoner
was ever held for more than one night.
Both cells were in a rather dirty condition.
They were equipped with lavatories, one of which was in
a poor state of repair. One of the cells contained a shabby
foam mattress and blanket. The cells did not benefit from
natural light; however, the artificial lighting was adequate.
30. The Public Security Police station
at Praça da Alegria in Lisbon did not possess any
holding rooms. The delegation was informed that persons
taken into custody were held at the station for a few hours
at most, and then transferred to the Governo Civil (cf.
paragraph 23). Persons taken into custody were kept in the
front entrance hallway; those thought likely to attempt
to escape were handcuffed to one of the wooden benches in
this area. Any questioning would apparently be done in an
adjacent office.
The CPT considers that it is unacceptable
for detained persons to be kept shackled to a piece of furniture
in full view of persons visiting the police station. Proper
cellular accommodation should be provided.
31. The CPT's delegation was not satisfied
by the conditions of detention at the Headquarters of the
Public Security Police at Campo sá da Bandeira in
Santarém. This establishment possessed two cells,
one for men and one for women, both measuring approximately
10 m².
The cell for men contained two concrete
beds with mattresses. It had adequate lighting, both natural
and artificial and was equipped with a lavatory. At the
time of the visit the temperature in the cell was very low,
at least in part due to the fact that the cell window was
unglazed.
The cell for women was located in a
generator room and was reached through two doors; the outer
door led to an area which housed the generator, and the
cell itself lay behind a further door. It contained two
iron-framed beds with mattresses. The cell enjoyed no natural
light, but the artificial light was adequate. As with the
cell for men, it contained a lavatory, which was out of
order at the time of the visit. The cell was divided at
half its height by a wire anti-escape mesh, thereby engendering
a particularly oppressive atmosphere.
Neither of the cells possessed a call
bell; as regards the womens' cell, it was not apparent that
(given the two doors and the noise which might be emitted
by the generator) it would be possible to hear anyone calling
for assistance.
32. Both of the cells were far from
clean and were in urgent need of renovation. Further, the
cell for women should be relocated; a generator room is
not a suitable place to hold someone in custody.
33. By contrast, conditions at the Headquarters
of the National Republican Guard at Rua Tenente Vladim in
Santarem were quite adequate. The cells were in a good state
of repair and contained lavatories which functioned. In
addition, it is commendable that they were equipped with
a call system.
34. Conditions of detention at the Public
Security Police Station at Rua Dr Guiherme Fernandes in
Sintra were good. The station had one large cell measuring
approximately 14 m², with a very high ceiling. The
officers present stated that, in recent times, there had
never been more than three people held there at any one
time.
The cell had been freshly painted and
was reasonably clean. It contained a platform bed with a
mattress and a lavatory behind a partition. Blankets were
available in a storeroom nearby.
c) action proposed
35. The CPT recommends the Portuguese
authorities:
- to review the conditions of detention
in the different police establishments visited by the delegation,
in the light of the remarks made in paragraphs 21 to 34;
- to take appropriate steps to ensure
that the conditions of detention in all police establishments
meet the requirements indicated in paragraph 21;
- to explore the possibility of withdrawing
from service the existing cellular accommodation at the
Governo Civil in Lisbon.
4. Safeguards
against the ill-treatment of persons detained by the police
a) introduction
36. The CPT attaches particular importance
to three rights for persons detained by the police:
- the right of those concerned to have
the fact of their detention notified to a close relative
or a third party of their choice,
- the right of access to a lawyer,
- the right to a medical examination
by a doctor of their choice (in addition to any medical
examination carried out by a doctor called by the police
authorities).
The CPT considers that these three rights
are fundamental safeguards against the ill-treatment of
persons in detention, which should apply from the very outset
of their custody (i.e. from the moment when they are obliged
to remain with the police).
37. Furthermore, in the view of the
CPT, persons taken into police custody should be expressly
informed without delay of all their rights, including those
referred to in paragraph 36.
b) notification of custody to a close
relative or third party
38. Detained persons do not have the
right immediately to inform a close relative or third party
of the fact of their detention by the police. Such a right
is only expressly guaranteed from the moment when a court
order involving deprivation of liberty becomes effective
(cf. Article 28(3) of the Constitution).
39. Police officers with whom this subject
was discussed stated that if an arrested person asked them
to contact a family member or third party they would comply
with that wish unless there was a danger of collusion or
the person had been arrested under a court order which expressly
prohibited such contacts.
40. The CPT considers that the right
of a person taken into police custody to inform immediately
a relative or third party of his situation should be expressly
guaranteed. The exercise of such a right could, of course,
be subject to carefully-defined exceptions designed to protect
the interests of justice.
41. The CPT recommends:
- that persons in police custody
should have the right as from the outset of their custody
to have the fact that they have been detained notified to
a family member or a third party of their choice;
- that any possibility exceptionally
to delay the exercise of this right should be clearly circumscribed
and made subject to appropriate safeguards (e.g. such delay
to be recorded in writing together with the reasons therefor
and to require the approval of a senior officer or public
prosecutor).
c) access to a lawyer
42. Article 32 of the Portuguese Constitution
provides inter alia that, "Criminal proceedings shall
provide all the necessary safeguards for the defence"
and that, "The accused shall have the right to choose
and to be assisted by counsel at all stages of the proceedings".
This is supplemented by section 61(1)
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which deals with the
rights and duties of accused persons; these include, inter
alia,
" ... (d) The right to choose his
own defence counsel or ask the court to appoint one;
(e) The right to be assisted by a defence
counsel at all stages of the proceedings in which he participates,
and, if detained, to communicate with his defence counsel,
even in private."
43. The CPT was informed that these
provisions are interpreted to entitle a detainee to a lawyer
even during the period of up to 48 hours during which they
may be held in police custody before being presented to
a judge.
The CPT wishes:
- to receive confirmation that a
person detained by the police has a right of access to a
lawyer as from the outset of his custody;
- to be informed whether the right
of access to a lawyer includes the right for the person
concerned to benefit from the presence of a lawyer during
questioning.
44. Notwithstanding the above, the delegation
was told that it was extremely rare for a detained person
to have access to a lawyer during the initial period of
police custody and that, in practice, access to assistance
from a legally qualified person was often not available
even during later stages of the proceedings.
The CPT wishes to receive the comments
of the Portuguese authorities on this subject.
d) medical examinations of detained
persons
45. Police officers told the delegation
that if a detainee requested or otherwise appeared to be
in need of medical assistance, he would be taken to the
nearest hospital. However, several prisoners met by the
delegation alleged that they had not received appropriate
medical attention whilst in police custody.
In this respect, the CPT wishes to
make the following recommendations:
- that the possibility for a person
detained by the police to have access to a doctor (including,
if he so wishes, one of his own choice) be expressly guaranteed;
- that all medical examinations of
persons in police custody be conducted out of the hearing,
and preferably out of the sight, of police officers;
- that the results of all medical
examinations as well as relevant statements by the detainee
and the doctor's conclusions be formally recorded by the
doctor and made available to the detainee and his lawyer.
46. As regards more particularly the
Judicial Police Headquarters in Lisbon, the delegation was
informed that the Ministry of Justice was giving consideration
to the idea of having a doctor permanently on call there.
Such a doctor would be able, when necessary, to examine
persons brought before a judge by the police with a view
to their remand in custody.
The CPT considers that this would
be a most appropriate development and wishes to receive
further information on this matter from the Portuguese authorities.
e) information on rights
47. The delegation noted that the provisions
of section 61(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure were
reproduced on a card carried by police officers, which was
apparently read to those arrested by them. The CPT fears
that the technical nature of this provision's wording could
well render it unintelligible to many detained persons.
48. In order to ensure that persons
in police custody are duly informed of their rights, the
CPT recommends that a form setting out those rights in a
straightforward manner be given systematically to such persons
at the outset of their custody. This form should be available
in different languages. Further, the detainee should be
asked to sign a statement attesting that he has been informed
of his rights.
f) conduct of police interviews
49. The delegation was told on several
occasions by police officers that they did not interrogate
persons taken into police custody. Such interrogation was,
it was stated, the task of the judge to whom the persons
concerned were presented with a view to their remand in
custody (cf. Article 28(1) of the Constitution).
However, the delegation heard from other
sources, including a judge, that persons could be questioned
by the police during the initial period of up to 48 hours
before being brought before a judge. This was subsequently
confirmed by other police officers to whom this point was
put, in particular by members of the Judicial Police. Those
officers did, however, emphasise that only statements which
were made before a judge would have any evidential value
in court.
50. In this respect, the CPT recommends
that the Portuguese authorities draw up a code of conduct
on police interviews addressing inter alia the following
matters: the systematic informing of the detainee of the
identity (name and/or identity number) of those present
at the interview; the permissible length of an interview;
rest periods between interviews and breaks during an interview;
places in which an interview may take place; whether the
detainee may be required to stand while being questioned;
the interviewing of persons who are under the influence
of drugs, alcohol, medicine, or who are in a post-traumatic
state. The code should also provide that a record be kept
of the time at which interviews start and end, of any request
made by the detainee during an interview, and of the persons
present during each interview.
Further, the CPT would like to receive
clarification about the evidential value of statements made
to the police or a Public Prosecutor prior to a detainee's
first appearance before a judge.
51. As already mentioned (cf. paragraph
11), the task of carrying out certain investigations during
the period of up to sixteen months before judicial charge
has been delegated to the Judicial Police. In this connection,
the CPT would like to be informed whether a person held
on remand could be returned to police premises for the purposes
of further questioning.
g) procedures vis-à-vis allegations
of ill-treatment
52. In the context of the prevention
of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, it is essential
to ensure that evidence obtained as a result of such treatment
cannot be admitted in legal proceedings (see also Article
15 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture). In
this regard, the CPT has noted with interest the provisions
of Article 32(6) of the Portuguese Constitution, according
to which "Any evidence obtained by torture, force,
violation of the physical or moral integrity of the individual
... shall be of no effect".
The CPT would like to receive information
on the precise procedures followed by an investigating or
trial judge when confronted with allegations by the person
detained that evidence presented against him was obtained
as a result of torture or other forms of ill-treatment.
B. Prisons
1. General information
53. The CPT's delegation visited the
Judicial Police Group Prison in Lisbon; Linhó Prison,
Sintra; Vale de Judeus Prison, Alcoentre and Alfeite Naval
Prison, Almada.
In addition, as noted above at paragraph
3, a sub-group of the delegation visited the Prison Hospital
at Caxias, in order to interview three particular prisoners
who had been transferred there from Vale de Judeus Prison.
No attempt was made to assess the general conditions of
detention at the Prison Hospital and the results of the
interviews conducted there will be discussed in respect
of the treatment of detainees at Vale de Judeus Prison.
54. The Judicial Police Group Prison
in Lisbon (Establecimento Prisional junto da Polícia
Judiciária de Lisboa), is located within the building
which houses the Headquarters of the Judicial Police. It
is managed and staffed by the Directorate General of Prison
Services. In principle at least, it is designed to operate
as a short-term holding area for persons who have been remanded
in custody following their arrest by the police. In addition
it can be used to accommodate people being questioned by
the Judicial Police prior to their being brought before
a judge with a view to their remand in custody. The establishment
has an official capacity of 80 (1). At the outset of the delegation's visit,
it was holding 155 prisoners.
55. Linhó Prison is located
outside the town of Sintra. It was built in 1956 and accommodates
mainly sentenced male prisoners. It has an official capacity
of 460. At the time of the delegation's visit it was holding
484 prisoners. The majority of the inmates were young adults
aged between 21 and 25.
56. Vale de Judeus Prison is
situated in the countryside outside the village of Alcoentre.
Having been closed in 1978, following a major escape, it
reopened in 1981 under its present name as a central maximum
security prison for those serving longer sentences. The
prison has an official capacity of 504 and at the time of
the visit had a population of 478, with a concentration
of older prisoners aged between 30 and 60.
57. Alfeite Naval Prison forms
part of the compound of the Number 2 Group of the Portuguese
Navy, located across the estuary from Lisbon, in the town
of Almada. There were six people detained there when the
delegation visited, one for breach of military discipline
and five who had been convicted of ordinary crimes but were
serving their sentences there because they were members
of the Navy.
2. Torture and
physical ill-treatment
58. The delegation heard mixed accounts
from detainees in the Lisbon Judicial Police Group Prison
about their treatment by prison staff. Certain prisoners
stated that their relations with the staff were reasonable,
although staff could on occasion be rather unco-operative
and over assertive. However, some allegations were heard
that prisoners were on occasion roughly treated by prison
staff especially in the event of querulous or unr uly behaviour,
e.g. if they made excessive noise. In this respect several
prisoners referred to an incident which had apparently recently
occurred in dormitory C. Furthermore, certain prisoners
identified the largest of the three reception cells as a
place where in the past prisoners had been seriously assaulted
by staff. A social welfare officer (educator) told the delegation
that there were approximately 12 written complaints per
year from prisoners about ill-treatment by the staff.
The CPT recommends the Portuguese
authorities to examine whether prison officers in the Lisbon
Judicial Police Group Prison are on occasion abusing their
authority by ill-treating prisoners and, if necessary, take
remedial action.
In this connection the CPT also wishes
to be informed of the number and nature of complaints made
during the last two years of ill-treatment by prison officers
in the Lisbon Judicial Police Group Prison and of the action
taken upon them.
59. The delegation heard very few allegations
of ill-treatment of prisoners by staff in the Linhó
and Vale de Judeus prisons. As regards the former establishment,
prisoners indicated that there had been a significant improvement
in the situation since 1990. Prisoners in both prisons stated
that, on the whole, their relations with the staff were
satisfactory. The point was made on several occasions that
younger members of staff tended to be more co-operative.
Nevertheless, the CPT understands that
an administrative enquiry has been opened into an incident
which occurred at Linhó Prison in early March 1991,
during which prisoners were said to have been ill-treated.
The CPT would like to receive the results of this enquiry.
Furthermore, the CPT received reports
that, in early August 1991, a German and a Dutch prisoner
were physically assaulted by security forces at Vale de
Judeus Prison. This incident apparently escalated to involve
other prisoners. The CPT requests the Portuguese authorities
to provide it with a full account of this incident.
60. The CPT heard allegations that outside
security forces ("intervention squads") were involved
in either or both of the above incidents. In this respect,
the CPT would stress that the intervention of outside security
forces can often engender a high risk of ill-treatment of
detainees and when such situations occur it is especially
important that they are subject to rigorous means of control.
More specifically, it is desirable that any such interventions
should take place in the presence of the civil and legal
authorities responsible for public order. The CPT would
welcome the comments of the Portuguese authorities on this
subject.
61. The delegation heard no allegations
and found no other evidence of ill-treatment of persons
detained at Alfeite Naval Prison. The delegation had the
impression that relations between prisoners and supervisory
staff were good.
62. Finally, the CPT wishes to emphasise
the great importance it attaches to the training of prison
staff. There is arguably no better guarantee against ill-treatment
of a prisoner than a properly trained prison officer, capable
of adopting an appropriate attitude in his relations with
inmates. In this connection, the CPT would underline
that the recommendation already made in paragraph 18 on
the subject of interpersonal communication skills applies
equally to prison staff.
3. Solitary confinement
63. The CPT pays particular attention
to prisoners detained in conditions resembling solitary
confinement. The principle of proportionality requires that
a balance be struck between the requirements of the case
and the application of a solitary confinement-type regime,
which is a step that can have very harmful consequences
for the person concerned. Solitary confinement can, in certain
circumstances, amount to inhuman and degrading treatment;
in any event, all forms of solitary confinement should be
as short as possible.
64. The CPT has noted that according
to section 111 of the Prison Regulations (Execução
das medidas Privativas de Liberdade, Decreto-Lei No. 265/79),
"special security measures" may be applied to
a prisoner if his behaviour or his mental state are such
as to suggest a risk of escape or the commission of acts
of violence against himself or against other persons or
property. Detention in a special security cell features
in the list of authorised security measures.
Confinement of a prisoner in a special
security cell for a period exceeding 15 days requires the
approval of the Director-General of Prison Services and
such confinement may not in any case exceed one month. If,
after the latter period, the conditions leading to implementation
of the special measure still obtain, the prisoner must be
transferred to a "security establishment or section".
65. In this context, particular reference
must be made to the situation found in the Security Unit
of Vale de Judeus Prison (which was quite distinct from
the establishment's Discipline Unit, on which cf. paragraph
136). The Unit consisted of ten cells, each measuring 7m2.
They were furnished much as the ordinary cells in the prison.
Lighting, both artificial and natural, and ventilation appeared
to be adequate.
As already indicated (cf. paragraph
7), the Unit was empty at the time of the visit and gave
the impression of being in some disarray. It was said that
the Unit was being refurbished; however, there was no evidence
of any renovation work in progress.
66. An examination of the files of the
four prisoners who had been removed from the Security Unit
shortly before the delegation's visit (i.e. on 18 January
1992), showed that one had been held in the Unit for more
than two years, with intermittent visits to the Prison Hospital
at Caxias; one for six months; one for three months and
the last for one week.
The delegation subsequently spoke to
the four prisoners in the locations to which they had been
sent (i.e. for one, an ordinary wing in the prison and for
the three others, Caxias Prison Hospital), who described
their everyday lives in the Security Unit. They made no
allegations of physical ill-treatment by staff, although
one of them complained that staff had threatened him with
violence and made excessive use of means of mechanical restraint
(handcuffs). On the other hand, all four were highly critical
of the regime applied to them within the Unit. The only
out-of-cell activity offered was outdoor exercise for two
hours per day; one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Although this had apparently not always been the case, occupants
of the Unit were currently allowed to take exercise together.
No other form of group association was offered. As regards
in-cell activities, the prisoners said that they were limited
to the provision of reading matter. The cells had neither
television nor radio; nor was any work activity provided.
The prisoners' accounts of the regime
applied in the Unit were, on the whole, confirmed by the
Unit's staff.
67. The Prison Director stated that
the three prisoners who had been transferred to the Prison
Hospital had been held in the Unit because they had "psychiatric
problems"; the delegation's discussions with the prisoners
concerned tended to confirm the Director's view of their
mental state. The fourth prisoner was said to have asked
to be placed in the Security Unit for his own protection.
The prisoner himself stated that he did not know why he
had been placed there.
68. The CPT wishes to emphasise that
when it is found necessary to deprive someone who is mentally
disordered of his liberty, he should be kept and cared for
in a secure hospital facility which is adequately equipped
and possesses appropriately trained staff. The Security
Unit at Vale de Judeus is not such a facility.
Further, it is generally acknowledged
that all forms of solitary confinement without appropriate
mental and physical stimulation are likely to have damaging
effects, resulting in degeneration in mental faculties and
social abilities. As far as the delegation could ascertain,
the regime applied to those undergoing segregation in Vale
de Judeus did not provide such stimulation.
The CPT recommends that an inquiry
be carried out immediately into the operation of the Security
Unit at Vale De Judeus Prison. The aims of this inquiry
should, inter alia, be to ensure:
- that no mentally disordered person
is held within the Unit;
- that the regime applied to the
Unit's occupants offers them purposeful activities and guarantees
them appropriate human contact;
- that no prisoner is held in the
Unit for longer than is strictly necessary.
69. It is axiomatic that a special security
measure of solitary confinement should not last any longer
than strictly necessary. This means that the decision to
place someone in solitary confinement must be regularly
reviewed. In addition, prisoners should, as far as possible,
be fully informed of the reasons for their solitary confinement
and, as the case may be, for its renewal. This will enable
them, inter alia, to make effective use of legal remedies
available for contesting the decision.
The CPT therefore recommends that:
- any prisoner placed in solitary
confinement as a special security measure or whose solitary
confinement is renewed be informed in writing of the reasons
for the decision, unless compelling security requirements
dictate otherwise;
- the prisoner be given an opportunity
to present his views on the matter to the relevant authority
before any final decision on placement in, or renewal of,
solitary confinement is taken;
- placement in solitary confinement
for an extended period be subject to a full review at least
every three months, if necessary based on a medical-social
report.
The CPT would also like to be informed
of the legal remedies available to a prisoner who wishes
to challenge a decision placing him in solitary confinement
as a security measure.
70. Further, the medical condition (both
mental and physical) of all prisoners placed in solitary
confinement (as a special security measure, for disciplinary
reasons, etc.) must be the subject of special attention.
In this connection, the CPT has noted the provisions of
sections 113 and 137 of the Prison Regulations, which provide
for medical supervision of such prisoners.
For its part, the CPT considers that
whenever a prisoner held in solitary confinement asks for
a medical doctor - or a prison officer asks for one on his
behalf - the doctor should be called immediately to examine
the prisoner. The results of the medical examination, including
an assessment of the prisoner's physical and mental state
and, if necessary, the likely consequences of continuing
solitary confinement, should be set out in a written report
and sent to the relevant authorities.
The CPT recommends that the Portuguese
authorities take all necessary steps to ensure that both
the regulations and the practice in this area are in accordance
with the requirements set out in this paragraph.
4. Conditions
of detention in general
a) Lisbon Judicial Police Group Prison
i. material conditions of detention
71. As already indicated (cf. paragraph
54), the Judicial Police Group Prison in Lisbon was grossly
overcrowded at the time of the delegation's visit. The establishment
was accommodating almost twice the number of prisoners it
was designed to hold.
72. Approximately half of the prisoners
were accommodated in four dormitories each measuring approximately
36 m². Up to 22 prisoners lived in each dormitory.
Aside from double or triple bunk beds, the dormitories were
equipped with a table, a few chairs and a television.
Each dormitory also had its own annex
with sanitary facilities - one lavatory and two to three
washbasins. Access to shower facilities was apparently possible
on a regular basis.
73. The remaining prisoners lived in
accommodation of three distinct types:
- Two rooms, each measuring approximately
12 m² with sanitary annex; six prisoners lived in each
room, triple bunk beds being installed for this purpose;
- Sets of two to four interconnecting
cells with sanitary annex, each cell measuring 6.5 m²;
three prisoners were accommodated in each cell in a triple
bunk bed;
Prisoners living in the above-mentioned
rooms and cells had access during the day to an exterior
corridor which contained a television.
- Sets of three cells, each measuring
6.7 m², again each cell accommodating three prisoners.
During the day prisoners living in these cells had access
to a small communal area containing a table, chairs and
a television set and to an adjacent sanitary annex. Buckets
were supplied in order to enable prisoners to satisfy their
natural needs at night. There were plans to reinforce the
outer wall of each set of cells, which would mean that the
cell doors could be left unlocked at night, thereby allowing
access to the sanitary annex at all times.
74. In the view of the CPT, to house
20 or more prisoners in a dormitory which measures 36 m²
is unacceptable under any circumstances, and the situation
found at the Judicial Police Group Prison was all the more
objectionable given that the prisoners were obliged to spend
the vast majority of their time in the dormitories (cf.
paragraph 80). The level of occupation in the other accommodation
described above also denied adequate living space to the
prisoners concerned.
75. Staff with whom the delegation spoke
stated that the dormitories were designed to hold a maximum
of eight to ten prisoners and the rooms a maximum of four,
and that there should be only one prisoner per cell. In
the CPT's opinion, at such a level of occupation the establishment
might be considered to offer acceptable conditions of detention,
provided that prisoners were permitted to spend a reasonable
amount of time outside their respective living/sleeping
areas.
76. In the light of the above comments,
the CPT recommends that immediate steps be taken to reduce
substantially the number of prisoners held in the Judicial
Police Group Prison. Preferably it should be kept within
the limits of its official capacity of 80.
The CPT also recommends that a high
priority be given to the planned refurbishments designed
to enable all prisoners to have ready access to a toilet
facility at all times.
77. Aside from the specific problems
arising from overcrowding, it should be added that much
of the establishment was in a poor state of repair (peeling
walls, dilapidated furniture, etc.). Some of the sanitary
annexes, for example in Sector 3, were in an appalling condition.
Specific mention should also be made of the unhygienic and
dilapidated state of the kitchen facilities (see also paragraph
143).
The CPT recommends that the establishment
as a whole be restored to a good state of repair as soon
as possible, and that inmates be provided with suitable
cleaning equipment in order to enable them to maintain their
living quarters in a satisfactory state of cleanliness.
ii) regime
78. There was no programme of organised
activities for prisoners.
Outdoor exercise was the principal activity
outside of the cells and dormitories. Prisoners told the
delegation that they were allowed one hour of exercise in
the morning three times a week. Prison staff said that there
were four or five hourly sessions per week; however, they
admitted that a period of outdoor exercise every day was
not guaranteed. The reason for this was apparently lack
of staff.
The outdoor exercise yard was of a fair
size. However, it was very poorly surfaced, and offered
no shelter from inclement weather.
79. The requirement that prisoners be
allowed at least one hour of exercise in the open air every
day is widely accepted as a fundamental safeguard. The scrupulous
respect of this requirement is all the more important in
prisons which offer only very limited regime activities.
The CPT recommends that immediate
steps be taken to ensure that all prisoners at the Judicial
Police Group Prison are allowed at least one hour of outdoor
exercise every day.
The CPT also recommends that the
prison exercise yard be resurfaced and that means of shelter
against inclement weather be installed.
80. Apart from outdoor exercise, the
only forms of recreation offered to the vast majority of
prisoners were television and dominos.
Staff stated that prisoners also had
access to a library; this facility, located in a converted
cell, was found to have only a very limited number of old
books.
No educational courses were offered,
there were no organised sports activities and the vast majority
of the prisoners were offered no work. Some 25 prisoners
made up a domestic workforce (kitchen and cleaning tasks,
maintenance, etc.).
In summary, the typical prisoner spent
almost the whole day idle in his dormitory or cell complex,
television being practically his only source of distraction.
As one prison officer put it, "... prisoners here do
a lot of visual work".
81. The situation described above is
of particular concern in view of the fact that prisoners
may be held in the establishment for relatively long periods
of time. Many of the prisoners had been held there for several
months, and a few for more than a year.
82. In the CPT's opinion, a fundamental
choice has to be made:
- either the Judicial Police
Group Prison should revert to its original function as a
short-term holding area in which people could be held for
a maximum of two to three weeks prior to their transfer
to a normal prison facility. In that case the existing situation
would be rendered acceptable by reducing overcrowding, making
the necessary improvements to the material conditions of
detention and guaranteeing at least one hour of outdoor
exercise per day;
- or it should be formally recognised
as a remand facility in which prisoners may be held for
extended periods - i.e. for periods of a month or more.
In this case, the programme of activities offered to prisoners
at the establishment would have to be radically improved.
The aim should be to ensure that prisoners in the establishment
are able to spend a reasonable part of the day (8 hours
or more) outside their dormitories and cells, engaged in
purposeful activities of a varied nature (education, sport,
work with vocational value).
The CPT recommends that the Portuguese
authorities adopt one of these two alternatives.
b) Linhó Prison
i) material conditions of detention
83. Prisoner accommodation in Linhó
Prison was located in two main galleried halls - Blocks
A and B - each accommodating approximately 240 prisoners.
A standard cell measured around 7m² and was equipped
with a bed and corner washbasin. Both natural and artificial
light were adequate.
The cells were of an adequate size for
one prisoner. However, the delegation noted that in Block
B, (which housed the majority of the "inactive"
part of the population, of whom there were around 70), a
large proportion of the prisoners were held two to a cell:
at this level of occupation the cells offered cramped accommodation.
This situation is all the more a source of concern in view
of the fact that Linhó Prison has a significant number
of prisoners serving lengthy sentences.
The CPT recommends that serious efforts
be made to ensure that, except for in exceptional circumstances,
prisoners in Linhó Prison are held one to a cell.
84. The delegation was struck by the
low temperatures (below 9C during the day) within Blocks
A and B. In this respect it should be noted that the cells
had no means of heating. Further, many of the cell windows
had no glass (the Governor informed the delegation that
approximately 50% of the windows throughout the establishment
were broken).
In several cells (especially in Block
B, among the inactive population, and in the Security Unit),
the delegation encountered prisoners huddled beneath blankets
in an attempt to stay warm, makeshift curtaining having
been placed against the windows to keep out the cold.
The CPT recommends that a high priority
be accorded to the reglazing of broken windows in Linhó
Prison and that prisoners be provided with heating facilities
during the winter months.
85. The prison cells did not possess
integral sanitation. Prisoners were provided with buckets
to enable them to comply with the needs of nature at night
(and, as regards the inactive population, even during the
day).
All prisoners slopped out their buckets
at approximately 8 am, prior to taking breakfast. For this
purpose a cesspit was located on the ground floor of each
block in the middle of a small room, which also contained
lavatories offering only a modicum of privacy. Slopping-out
facilities also existed on the other floors, but were out
of operation at the time of the delegation's visit.
86. The delegation observed the slopping-out
procedure one morning and was appalled by what it witnessed,
particularly in Block B.
The cell doors were opened in sequence
and the prisoners brought their buckets to the cesspit.
The process was staggered, thereby avoiding the formation
of a significant queue. However, by the time 30 or 40 prisoners
had used the cesspit, newly arriving prisoners were confronted
with a mound of excrement and assorted rubbish, piled up
on the grille covering the cesspit, to which they added
their own contribution. By this stage the stench in the
slopping-out area was overpowering. The occasional prisoner
would use one of the lavatories located alongside the cesspit
- in full view of newly arriving prisoners. Having emptied
their buckets, prisoners would rinse them out; however,
no detergent or disinfectant was provided. The mound of
excrement was later cleared with a hose.
To commence each day with such an experience
must have a degrading effect on all involved, including
the prison staff. Moreover, the present arrangements no
doubt constitute a health hazard, which will increase in
significance during the warmer months of the year.
87. It should also be recalled that
a considerable number of prisoners were held two to a cell,
in particular among those who were inactive. These latter
prisoners spent a considerable part of their time confined
to their cells and were obliged to rely upon their buckets
as a sanitary facility to a far greater extent than other
prisoners.
In this connection, the CPT would stress
that in its opinion, the act of discharging human waste,
and more particularly of defecating, in a bucket in the
presence of another person in a confined space used as a
living area is degrading, both for the person using the
bucket and for his cell mate.
88. The Prison Director stated that
there were plans to introduce toilet facilities in the cells
at Linhó (as well as in establishments throughout
Portugal - cf. paragraph 153). However, he was not in a
position to indicate a precise timetable for this work.
The CPT recommends:
- that the provision of integral
sanitation in cells at Linhó Prison (and of ready
access at all times to toilet facilities in prison establishments
in general) be accorded a very high priority;
- that, pending the provision of
integral sanitation:
the slopping-out facilities on the
upper floors of the detention blocks be brought into operation;
prisoners be provided with appropriate means to clean and
disinfect their buckets;
prison officers receive clear instructions to the effect
that a request made by a prisoner during the day to be released
from his cell for the purposes of using a toilet facility
should be granted, unless significant security considerations
require otherwise.
89. The delegation also heard complaints
from prisoners that under the present laundry arrangements
their bed sheets may not be changed for weeks. The CPT
would like to receive the comments of the Portuguese authorities
on this matter.
On the other hand, no complaints were
heard about access to shower facilities. Regular access
was guaranteed, including for the inactive population.
ii) regime
90. Linhó offers various kinds
of work activities to those detained. Prisoners employed
in workshops within the prison walls assembled or produced
a range of items: clothes pegs, shoes, carpets, car filters,
statuettes, stained glass windows, etc. There was also a
sawmill and a blacksmith's shop. Conditions in these workshops
appeared to be adequate.
In respect of the working facilities
outside the walls, the prison farm appeared to provide a
constructive working environment, albeit for a comparatively
small number of prisoners. By contrast, working conditions
at the prison "quarry" were unacceptable.
91. The above-mentioned quarry was located
at a distance of a few hundred metres from the prison. At
the time of the delegation's visit, twenty-four prisoners
were employed in breaking stone and in lifting the broken
stone onto the back of an open truck. The stone was not
quarried on site but arrived by truck from a quarry elsewhere
(2), the job of the prisoners
being simply to split the blocks of stone into smaller fragments.
The site presented a scene which resembled
a hard labour colony from the last century. The equipment
used was primitive (sledgehammers, crowbars and one small
drill) and the protective clothing provided was minimal.
To sum up, it appeared to the delegation that the work was
both backbreaking and dangerous. Some prisoners stated that
they had chosen to work there because it offered small additional
privileges, such as the opportunity to eat lunch outdoors.
None of them made reference to having chosen the work because
it provided the "good physical exercise" which
certain members of staff had advanced as a reason for volunteering
to work there.
92. The CPT recommends that immediate
steps be taken to provide all prisoners who work in the
quarry with proper protective clothing. This should include
boots with protective toecaps and protective gloves for
all workers; in addition, those required to break the stones
should have goggles and those required to load it onto the
back of trucks should be issued with safety headwear.
93. However, it must also be said that
in the CPT's opinion, breaking stones with sledgehammers
can no longer be regarded as an appropriate activity for
prisoners. It is work which has little or no vocational
value and is potentially perilous. Consequently, the
CPT recommends that stone-breaking activities cease as soon
as possible and be replaced by other work of a more challenging
and vocational nature.
94. The prison also had education places
for one hundred prisoners (i.e. approximately 20% of the
population), who followed a curriculum set by the Ministry
of Education. External teachers provided primary and secondary
education programmes, following the models of outside education,
as well as a release education programme. In addition, prisoners
could avail themselves of the services of five "educational
technicians", who worked for the prison education service
and five social workers, who were members of the social
rehabilitation service (instituto de reinserção
social). In addition the prison possessed a small, but apparently
well-run library. As regards sports facilities, the establishment
had a small gymnasium, used mainly for weight training by
approximately 40 prisoners per day.
95. Obviously, the first priority at
Linhó Prison must be to address the deficiencies
in material conditions. However, it is also clear that there
is considerable room for improvement in the regime activities
provided to prisoners. The present regime cannot realistically
be expected to meet the requirement under Portuguese law
that convicted persons be provided with the treatment necessary
for their social rehabilitation(3).
The CPT invites the Portuguese authorities
to develop regime activities for prisoners at Linhó
Prison.
96. As recognised under Portuguese law
(4), the provision of
individualised custody plans is an important element in
assisting prisoners to come to terms with a period of incarceration
and to prepare for release. In this respect, the delegation
was informed by one of the educational technicians at Linhó
that such plans ("plans for social rehabilitation")
were only prepared for those prisoners serving indeterminate
sentences.
The CPT recommends that individualised
custody plans be drawn up for all sentenced prisoners.
iii) the inactive population
97. A certain number of prisoners had
no work - the so-called "inactive" population.
It was not clear to the delegation whether the situation
of these prisoners was due to a lack of work places, a lack
of work which was appropriate for the prisoners in question
or simply to their refusal to work.
The CPT would like to receive clarification
of the reasons for the inactive status of the above mentioned
prisoners.
98. The out-of-cell activities for the
inactive population consisted of a daily three-hour period
in an exercise yard. However, as a result of the rota system
in operation, these prisoners regularly spent a continuous
period of 27 hours (from a given midday to the early afternoon
of the following day) locked in their cells, with the exception
of brief periods for slopping out and food collection. In
addition to this impoverished regime, it should be recalled
that the inactive prisoners were often held in accommodation
which was cramped (i.e. two to a cell), lacked integral
sanitation and, at the time of the delegation's visit, was
very cold (cf. paragraphs 83 to 87). To sum up, their quality
of life was extremely poor and could well be considered
as inhuman and degrading.
99. The CPT has already made recommendations
concerning the issues of overcrowding, heating and integral
sanitation (cf. paragraphs 83, 84 and 88). The Director
indicated that he wished to reform the regime activities
offered to the inactive prisoners both by reducing the period
of 27 hours for which they could be locked in their cells
and by employing additional staff to organise activities
for them.
The CPT recommends that a very high
priority be given to these developments.
iv) staffing levels at night
100. The ratio of staff to prisoners,
especially at night, was also a matter of concern to the
delegation. It was apparent that, apart from perimeter security
staff, there were only five officers on duty at night. Of
these, one was based at the entrance and one at the switchboard,
leaving only three actually "on circuit" inside
the prison.
It is clearly difficult for three officers
to respond adequately to the needs of around five hundred
prisoners. The delegation learned that recently a prisoner
who had been calling for help for some considerable time
had died in his cell before assistance arrived. In addition
it was claimed that many prisoners resorted to various forms
of self-harm in an attempt to attract attention more quickly.
Staff and prisoners told the delegation that there were
cases of self-mutilation "almost every night"
in both Blocks A and B. The problems in this area were exacerbated
by the absence of a call system (cf. also paragraphs 150
and 151).
The CPT recommends that the Portuguese
authorities review staffing levels at night in Linhó
Prison.
c) Vale de Judeus Prison
i) material conditions of detention
101. The physical layout of Vale de
Judeus Prison reflects its function as a high security prison,
with prisoner accommodation in four blocks (A, B, C and
D) at the furthest extremity from the gate. These are perpendicular
to one side of a long four storey building which houses
rooms for recreation and association, and supports an open
balcony which runs the length of the building on the opposite
side from the prisoner accommodation. Accommodation is in
individual cells except for two dormitories in Block B.
102. The individual cells were of an
adequate size (7m2) for one prisoner and the delegation
encountered no prisoners held two to a cell. The cells were
well equipped (including a washbasin) and benefited from
good natural and artificial light. Many of the prisoners
had televisions and appeared to be allowed a wide latitude
in the choice of personal possessions which they could keep
in their cells.
103. The dormitories in Block B were
of a reasonable size (approximately 45m2) for the eight
prisoners accommodated in each, all of whom had apparently
chosen to live there. Like the cells, material conditions
in the dormitories were quite satisfactory, and  the
atmosphere appeared to the delegation to be very relaxed.
The cells did not possess integral sanitation
(both dormitories had a sanitary annex). During the day,
prisoners had ready access to the toilet facilities located
on each floor. However, after 7.00 pm prisoners had to make
use of a bucket in their cells. Consequently, as at Linhó
Prison, a slopping-out system was in operation. However,
unlike at Linhó, there was an adequate number of
slopping-out recesses, equipped with proper sluices. Further,
the toilet facilities were situated in a separate room from
the slopping-out area.
Although conditions of sanitation in
Vale de Judeus were far superior to those in Linhó,
the CPT nevertheless considers that prisoners at Vale de
Judeus should as soon as possible be granted ready access
at all times to toilet facilities (cf. paragraph 153).
104. The prison's shower facilities
were of a good standard and prisoners had access to them
two or three times a week.
ii) regime
105. Various workshops were in operation,
including a printshop, a shoe assembly workshop and an arts
and crafts area. They appeared to provide reasonable working
conditions. The staff clearly enjoyed a relatively informal
relationship with the detainees, which contributed greatly
to the working environment.
The delegation was particularly impressed
by several well-equipped workshops providing vocational
training facilities, with places for 60 prisoners. There
were five areas of activity - carpentry, cabinet making,
masonry, building and plumbing - with places for 12 prisoners
on each course. Successful completion of a course could
lead to the award of a professional qualification.
106. Education was provided at both
primary and secondary levels and there was a release programme
which enabled some prisoners to participate in tertiary
education.
Association/recreation facilities adjacent
to the prisoner accommodation appeared to be adequately
equipped and fully used. The delegation was particularly
impressed by the large and well-lit art rooms.
As regards sports facilities, the prison
possessed a good sized gymnasium which doubled as a theatre;
it was more than adequate for both purposes. Further, the
exercise yards were well surfaced and marked out for sport.
In addition, a full-sized football pitch was located between
the administration offices and the prisoner accommodation
blocks. Organised sports activities were an important part
of the regime.
107. There was general agreement amongst
the prisoners to whom the delegation spoke that the regime
in the prison was comparatively good. Those who had experience
of other Portuguese prisons were particularly inclined to
take a positive view of the facilities available in Vale
de Judeus. This view was shared by the delegation.
d) Alfeite Naval Prison
108. Alfeite was a very small and well-kept
prison. The cellular accommodation was of a high standard
and in a good state of repair. There were 10 individual
cells, each measuring approximately 7m2. Every cell had
an adjoining sanitary annex containing a washbasin and lavatory.
Prisoners also benefited from a variety of other facilities
including free access during the day to a walled exercise
area.
109. The prisoners were allowed a wide
range of personal possessions and enjoyed a high degree
of freedom not only within the prison itself, but throughout
the whole naval compound in which it was located. Some of
them worked in normal naval jobs within the compound and
wore naval uniform. The prisoners as a whole had very few
complaints of substance about their treatment whilst detained,
and indeed several expressed the view that they were fortunate
to be serving their sentences in Alfeite rather than in
a civil prison.
5. Medical services
in the three civil prisons visited (5)
a) staffing levels
110. The health care staff at the Lisbon
Judicial Police Group Prison were a doctor and a nurse,
both part-time. The doctor attended the prison four times
per week for one to two hours and the nurse five times per
week for a similar period. Urgent medical problems which
arose in their absence were referred to the nearby San José
hospital.
There was no provision for psychiatric
or psychological treatment; people who required such care
had to be transferred to the Prison Hospital at Caxias.
111. The present health care team is
manifestly insufficient for a remand establishment which
regularly holds between 150 and 200 prisoners. The current
staffing level does not allow the legitimate needs of the
inmates to be met. Not surprisingly, the delegation encountered
prisoners who had been waiting for days to see the doctor.
112. The deleterious effects of the
low staffing level were exacerbated by the fact that the
prison's medical facilities were very limited. The delegation
noted that, for example, the doctor had only recently been
supplied with an item as basic as a sterilising machine.
113. The CPT recommends that immediate
steps be taken to ensure a more frequent attendance by a
doctor and a nurse at the Judicial Police Group Prison,
and to upgrade the establishment's medical facilities.
It should be added that it will remain
very difficult to provide a satisfactory level of health
care in the establishment until the problems of severe overcrowding,
inadequate regime activities and (for some prisoners) lack
of ready access to toilet facilities are resolved. In this
respect the CPT recalls its recommendations at paragraphs
76 and 82.
114. Staffing levels at Linhó
Prison were also quite inadequate. A part-time doctor (who
also worked at the Judicial Police Group Prison in Lisbon),
visited the establishment three times a week. The doctor
was assisted by two nurses, one of whom worked for three
hours in the morning and the other for three hours in the
afternoon, five days a week. As at the Judicial Police Group
Prison there was no on site provision for psychiatric care,
prisoners being transferred to the Prison Hospital at Caxias.
115. In the CPT's opinion such a poorly
resourced medical service is incapable of offering an appropriate
level of health care in an establishment of the size of
Linhó Prison (approximately 500 inmates). The effect
of the present system was only too evident at the time of
the delegation's visit. There had been no medical consultations
for several days and thirty-three patients were waiting
to see the doctor.
116. The CPT recommends that the
post of prison doctor at Linhó be converted to a
full-time position and that the nursing staff be reinforced.
117. Vale de Judeus Prison employed
a doctor on a full-time basis; however he lived at a considerable
distance from the establishment and, as far as the delegation
could ascertain, spent only a limited amount of time per
day in the prison.
The prison also employed a full-time
nurse, who was on sick leave at the time of the delegation's
visit. The Director stated that the nurse had been absent
for no more than two weeks. However, the delegation heard
allegations that he had very rarely been present over the
preceding six months. It was undisputed that, at least at
the time of the delegation's visit, nursing tasks mostly
fell on the shoulders of an "auxiliary" - a prisoner
who had apparently had some form of nursing training.
There were no in-house or visiting psychiatric/psychological
services, a remarkable lacuna in a large high security establishment
such as Vale de Judeus.
118. The CPT recommends that the de
facto presence in the prison of at least one full-time doctor
and the equivalent of two full-time nurses be guaranteed.
119. The ineluctable consequence
of the situation described above was that provision of health
care by an appropriately qualified person was not assured
in the three prisons.
120. At Linhó Prison, for example,
it was clear that the two nursing staff were carrying out
tasks which are properly those of a doctor. The nurses made
clinical decisions on the intramuscular administration of
sedatives, on the prescription of antibiotics and on the
appropriate level of dosage of neuroleptic drugs. While
the delegation was impressed by the dedication of the nurses
at Linhó (they had, for example, established an "on-call"
system, although they were only paid for their time in the
prison), nursing staff are not trained to make the diagnostic
judgements which should precede the prescription and administration
of such drugs. The recommended conversion of the post of
doctor at Linhó Prison to a full-time position should
address this situation.
121. The provision of medical care by
inappropriately qualified persons was an even more acute
problem at Vale de Judeus Prison where, as already indicated,
a prisoner carried out the tasks of a nurse. He had no formal
nursing qualifications; nevertheless he, inter alia, administered
medication, dealt with overdoses and sutured wounds.
Moreover, the delegation was told that
this prisoner might see up to twenty patients per morning,
in order to decide which cases to refer to the doctor during
his brief visits.
122. The recommendation made at paragraph
118 is designed to address this totally unacceptable situation.
The CPT would add that the use of prisoners to provide
health care services is a highly questionable practice,
regardless of whether they possess appropriate qualifications.
b) psychiatric/psychological services
123. Reference has already been made
to the total absence of any psychiatric or psychological
services within the three prisons. Prisoners considered
to be in need of psychiatric care could be sent to the Prison
Hospital at Caxias.
The lack of in-house or visiting psychiatric
or psychological services in prisons of the size and nature
of Linhó and, to an even greater extent, Vale de
Judeus, is most regrettable. There must be many prisoners
in those establishments who, whilst not requiring admission
to a psychiatric institution, would benefit from appropriate
psychiatric or psychological care but do not receive it.
Moreover, the admission of a detainee to a psychiatric facility
should be based upon a psychiatric opinion. The absence
of an in-house or visiting psychiatric service must render
it extremely difficult to observe that diagnostic process.
124. In this context it should also
be noted that the delegation was concerned by the very substantial
numbers of prisoners at Vale de Judeus Prison (approximately
one third of the population), who had been prescribed psychotropic
drugs of various kinds. At the time of the delegation's
visit, for example, 87 prisoners were receiving the neuroleptic
Serenal.
125. The CPT recommends that steps
be taken without delay to provide prisoners at Linhó
and Vale de Judeus with an appropriately resourced in-house
or visiting psychiatric/psychological service. Such a service
should also be provided to those held in the Judicial Police
Group Prison in Lisbon for so long as that establishment
continues to operate as a remand facility in which people
may be detained for considerable periods of time (as distinct
from as a short-term holding area).
c) medical screening on reception
126. The inadequate resources of the
health-care teams inevitably had repercussions upon the
medical screening of newly-arrived prisoners. Frequently,
such prisoners were seen by a doctor only some considerable
time (more than 24 hours) after their arrival, and might
on occasion not be seen at all. This could have particularly
serious consequences at the Lisbon Judicial Police Group
Prison, which represents a point of entry into the prison
system.
The CPT recommends that every newly-arrived
prisoner be properly interviewed and, if necessary, physically
examined by a medical doctor as soon as possible after his
admission; save for in exceptional circumstances, this interview/examination
should be carried out on the day of admission, especially
insofar as remand establishments are concerned.
127. The delegation also noted from
the medical files of prisoners at the Lisbon Judicial Police
Group Prison that whereas any signs of injuries were recorded,
no reference was made to any statements by detainees regarding
the origin of those injuries. The doctor confirmed that
he did not record any such statements.
In this connection, the CPT wishes to
recommend that all medical examinations of prisoners (whether
on arrival or at a later stage) should be conducted out
of the hearing, and preferably out of the sight, of prison
officers and that the results of the examination (including
any relevant statements by the prisoner and the doctor's
conclusions) should be formally recorded and made available
to the prisoner.
d) night and weekend cover
128. There was no permanent presence
of a doctor or nurse at the establishments visited, in particular
at night and weekends. The delegation was further informed
that there was often no "on-call" system in operation.
Apparently in the event of an emergency occurring in the
absence of health-care staff, a prisoner would simply be
taken to the nearest outside hospital facility.
129. The CPT recommends that prison
staff should always be able to contact a doctor capable
of offering advice on emergency cases and, when medically
appropriate, of attending the prison within a short period
of time.
It is further recommended that someone
competent to provide first aid always be present on prison
premises, preferably someone with a recognised nursing qualification.
e) suicide and self-harm
130. Reference should also be made
to the subject of suicide and self-harm, in particular in
relation to the information received at Linhó Prison.
There had been three suicides at the establishment during
the twelve months prior to the delegation's visit. Further,
it would appear that suicide attempts were frequent; consultation
of twelve medical files chosen at random showed that three
of the prisoners to whom they related had recently attempted
suicide. The suicide rate was notably lower at Vale de Judeus
(apparently only 2 suicides since 1986). However, as at
Linhó Prison, instances of self-harm/mutilation were,
according to staff, a common occurrence.
131. Certain of the recommendations
already made by the CPT are of relevance in this area, in
particular those concerning the reinforcement of medical
services (including in the psychiatric/psychological fields)
at both Linhó and Vale de Judeus Prisons, and the
improvement of material conditions of detention as well
as staffing levels at night at Linhó.
132. As regards more particularly suicide
prevention, the CPT would underline that the reception process,
and more particularly medical screening, has a crucial role
to play in this context; performed properly, that process
can both identify those most at risk and relieve some of
the anxiety experienced by all newly-arrived prisoners.
Further, all prison staff, whatever
their particular job, should be on the look out for (which
implies being trained in recognising) signs of suicidal
behaviour.
Of course, persons identified as a suicide
risk should be subject to special precautions. In particular,
they should not be placed alone in a cell with easy access
to means of killing themselves (cell window bars, broken
glass, belts or ties, etc), should benefit from counselling,
support and appropriate association, and should, for as
long as necessary, be kept under a special observation scheme.
The CPT invites the Portuguese authorities
to draw up a suicide prevention programme, taking into account
inter alia the points made above.
133. More generally, the CPT would
appreciate receiving information on the number and causes
of deaths in Portuguese prisons over the last three years.
f) other matters
134. Various other shortcomings in
health care working practices became apparent to the delegation.
The delegation found that at Linhó Prison the local
anaesthesia was not kept refrigerated, and that at both
Linhó and Vale de Judeus prisons, medicines were
out-of-date.
The delegation also noted that confidentiality
of medical records was not guaranteed in any of the establishments
visited; they were not kept under lock and key and were
stored in areas to which custodial staff could, and did,
have access. This problem appeared to be particularly acute
at Linhó Prison.
The CPT invites the Portuguese authorities
to take action to remedy the shortcomings identified above.
6. Other issues
related to the CPT's mandate
a) discipline
135. The Prison Regulations establish
a clear disciplinary procedure. There is provision
for several kinds of disciplinary sanction, the most severe
being cellular confinement for up to one month.
The Regulations provide prisoners with
a right to be heard on the subject of the infraction of
which they are accused. However, the relevant provision
(section 131 (2)) seems to imply that the hearing process
is conducted exclusively in writing. The CPT wishes to
be informed whether a prisoner has the right to be heard
orally (it should be noted in this respect that the
delegation met a significant number of illiterate prisoners).
A sanction of confinement in a disciplinary
cell for more than eight days can be appealed to the supervisory
judge (Juiz do Tribunal de Execuçâo das Penas).
However, it would appear that no such right of appeal exists
in respect of other sanctions. The CPT considers that
a right of appeal to a higher authority should exist in
respect of all types of disciplinary sanctions.
Further, certain of the prisoners whom
the delegation met in the Disciplinary Unit at Linhó
Prison had been waiting for some time (in one case, for
13 days) for a formal decision concerning the imposition
of a disciplinary sanction. The CPT would like to receive
the comments of the Portuguese authorities on this state
of affairs.
136. Material conditions in the
disciplinary cells at the Judicial Police Group Prison
in Lisbon can be described as, on the whole, acceptable,
with the exception of the in-cell toilet facilities,
which were in a deplorable state.
Conditions of detention in most of the
cells in the Discipline Unit at Linhó Prison
(which was also used for solitary confinement measures of
a non-disciplinary character), were little different from
those in the main inmate accommodation blocks. Like those
in the main blocks, temperatures in the cells were very
low.
Four bar-fronted disciplinary cells
located in a separate area at one end of the Unit offered
a distinctly lower standard of accommodation. They were
very small (scarcely 4m2) and their fittings were spartan,
consisting only of a bed and slopping-out bucket. Their
bar-fronted design would permit a prisoner to be observed
continuously in safety and they might therefore be suitable
for use as a temporary holding area for prisoners exhibiting
violent behaviour. However, they represent an unduly harsh
environment in which to place those undergoing disciplinary
sanctions. The CPT therefore recommends that they should
not be used for that purpose.
Conditions of detention in the Discipline
Unit at Vale de Judeus Prison were of an acceptable
standard. The cells were of a good size (7m2) and benefited
from satisfactory ventilation and lighting. There was a
raised bed block in each cell and staff told the delegation
that detainees were allowed to keep their mattress throughout
the day. However, the CPT considers that it would be
desirable for the cells to be equipped with a table and
chair.
137. The delegation was informed in
each of the establishments that a person undergoing cellular
confinement as a disciplinary sanction was not allowed any
outdoor exercise. In the view of the CPT, this is
unacceptable. The requirement of daily outdoor exercise
is widely recognised as constituting a basic safeguard for
all prisoners.
The CPT recommends that all prisoners
without exception, including those undergoing cellular confinement
as a disciplinary sanction, be offered the opportunity to
take at least one hour of exercise in the open air every
day.
b) complaints and inspection procedures
138. Effective grievance and inspection
procedures are fundamental safeguards against ill-treatment
in prisons. Prisoners should have avenues of complaint open
to them, both within and outside the prison administration,
including the possibility to have confidential access to
an appropriate authority. The CPT attaches particular importance
to regular visits to prison establishments by an independent
body (e.g. a Board of Visitors or supervisory judge) possessing
powers to hear (and if necessary take action upon) complaints
from prisoners and to inspect the premises.
139. The CPT notes that, in addition
to avenues of complaint to the different echelons within
the prison administration and the Prison Department Inspectorate,
both sentenced and remand prisoners may submit complaints
to the supervisory judge, who is required to visit each
prison establishment at least once a month.
Prisoners may also submit complaints
to the office of the Ombudsman. The delegation was informed
that these communications were not subject to any control
by the prison authorities. The CPT would like to receive
confirmation that this is indeed the case and wishes to
receive details of any relevant legal texts. It would also
like to be informed about any other bodies outside the prison
administration to which prisoners may have confidential
access.
140. As far as the inspection of establishments
is concerned, the Prison Regulations make provision for
an Inspectorate attached to the Directorate-General of Prison
Services (section 156). It is stipulated that each establishment
should be visited once a year, in addition to any extraordinary
inspections which may prove necessary.
141. As regards inspections by bodies
which do not form part of the prison administration, the
delegation was informed that the Ombudsman could organise
visits to all places of detention; however, the frequency
of such visits apparently depends very much on the policy
of each successive Ombudsman. In any event, it is clear
that the Ombudsman's office is not in a position to exercise
regular supervision over the situation in each and every
prison establishment in Portugal.
As already mentioned, a supervisory
judge must visit each establishment at least once a month
and prisoners may submit complaints to him. However, it
appeared that the main role of the judges was to deal with
questions such as the granting of prison leave or parole.
The CPT believes that it is most important to provide for
the independent inspection of the treatment of those detained
and that, in this respect, the current procedures could
usefully be reinforced. Ideally, the on-going supervision
of prison establishments should be carried out by an independent
body; however, it would also be possible to enlarge the
role of supervisory judges to include this task. This would
imply inter alia that they would no longer limit their activities
to hearing detainees who have asked to see them, but take
the initiative to visit prison premises and enter into contact
with inmates.
The CPT recommends that the Portuguese
authorities review the current procedures for the inspection
of prison establishments in the light of the above remarks.
c) food
142. Complaints about the quality
and the quantity of the food were widespread in each of
three civil prisons visited. It is very common for the
CPT to receive such complaints from prisoners; however,
this does not mean that they should be dismissed lightly.
As the Explanatory Memorandum to the European Prison Rules
states, "food and water are basic to life itself and
inevitably are a focus of special interest to people who
are bound to the monotony of institutional routines by virtue
of imprisonment". It follows that poor food, badly
served, can be a source of serious discontent within a prison.
143. Visits to the kitchen facilities
at the Judicial Police Group Prison in Lisbon and at Linhó
Prison showed them to be unhygienic and dilapidated. Much
of the equipment in use was very old and in poor condition.
The CPT invites the Portuguese authorities to upgrade the
kitchen facilities in these two establishments.
144. Most prisoners at Linhó
and Vale de Judeus Prisons ate together in canteen facilities.
Many prisoners complained that the distribution system used
was such that food was often cold when it reached them.
The delegation's observations tended to bear out those complaints.
The introduction of a self-service food distribution
system might usefully be considered at both establishments.
From the delegation's observations it
also appeared that improvements could be made as regards
the quantity and quality of eating utensils provided to
prisoners.
d) contact with the outside world
145. It is very important for prisoners
to be able to maintain reasonably good contact with the
outside world. Above all, they must be given the opportunity
to preserve their relationships with their families and/or
friends, and in particular with their spouse or partner
and children. The maintenance of such relationships can
be of critical significance for all concerned, particularly
in the context of the prisoners' social rehabilitation.
The guiding principle should be to promote
contact with the outside world; any restrictions on such
contacts should be based exclusively on security concerns
of an appreciable nature or considerations linked to available
resources. This is in the spirit of several recommendations
of the European Prison Rules, in particular those set out
in paragraph 43, sub-paragraph 1 and paragraph 65, item
c.
146. Under the Prison Regulations (section
30) prisoners are entitled to at least one hour of visiting
time per week (at Vale de Judeus visits lasted, in principle,
for two hours). This visit entitlement would appear to be
adequate; however, the CPT wishes to stress the need
to retain a certain flexibility in the application of the
visiting rules to those whose families live a long way from
the prison (making frequent visits impractical). For
example, such prisoners could be authorised to accumulate
a number of visiting periods.
147. As regards the material conditions
in which visits took place, the delegation noted that
visiting facilities for families (as distinct from those
for lawyers) were far from satisfactory at the Judicial
Police Group Prison in Lisbon; indeed, senior staff described
them as "inhuman". Prisoners and visitors stood
at opposite sides of a barrier which consisted of wire mesh
enclosing metal bars. As an absolute minimum, a prisoner
and his visitors should be provided with seats, and far
less repressive physical arrangements would be preferable.
The CPT recommends that facilities at the Judicial Police
Group Prison in Lisbon for visits from family members be
improved without delay.
Visits at Linhó Prison took place
in a large open-plan room and the visiting system appeared
to operate to the satisfaction of all concerned.
By contrast, the CPT would draw the
attention of the Portuguese authorities to the fact that
both prisoners and staff at Vale de Judeus Prison complained
about the congested conditions in which visits took place.
The delegation observed that space was so restricted that
some prisoners and their families had to stand in corridors
during the full two-hour visiting period. The CPT recommends
that the visiting facilities at Vale de Judeus Prison be
enlarged substantially or that some other system of regulating
the number of prisoners who receive visits at any one time
be found, without reducing their overall visit entitlement.
148. The CPT would also like to emphasise
the importance of giving prisoners who do not receive regular
visits improved opportunities for telephone contact with
their families.
Many prisoners (in particular foreigners)
at Vale de Judeus Prison complained that they had very limited
opportunities to telephone their families. In this connection,
the CPT notes that the establishment's internal rules on
this matter would appear to be more restrictive than the
general Prison Regulations. The CPT recommends that arrangements
at Vale de Judeus Prison for telephone contacts between
prisoners and their families be reviewed in the light of
the above remarks.
149. Finally, the CPT considers that
granting prisoners the right to receive extended visits
in order to maintain family and personal (including sexual)
relations would be a commendable step, provided that such
visits took place in conditions which respected human dignity.
The CPT invites the Portuguese authorities to explore the
possibility of introducing such a measure.
e) call systems
150. The delegation noted that none
of the cells in the establishments visited were equipped
with a call bell (cf. in particular paragraph 100). Prisoners
requiring assistance while locked in their cells had to
attract the attention of prison officers by banging on their
cell doors.
151. The risk of a prisoner in need
of assistance being left unattended would be significantly
reduced if a call system existed. The CPT recommends
that all cells be equipped with such a system, preferably
linked to a central monitoring point, staffed on a permanent
basis.
f) access to toilet facilities
152. As already indicated (cf. paragraphs
85 to 88 and 103), the CPT does not like the practice found
in certain countries of prisoners discharging human waste
in buckets in their cells (which are subsequently "slopped
out" at appointed times). Either a toilet facility
should be located in cellular accommodation (preferably
in a sanitary annex) or means should exist enabling prisoners
who need to use a toilet facility to be released from their
cells without undue delay at all times (including at night).
153. The CPT was informed that slopping-out
was still a feature in many prisons in Portugal, but that
there were plans to provide all prisoners with ready access
to toilet facilities. The CPT recommends that implementation
of those plans be accorded a very high priority.
In this connection the CPT would
like to receive details of the plans in question and, more
particularly, of the timescale within which it is envisaged
that the necessary work will be completed.
III. RECAPITULATION
AND CONCLUSIONS
A. Police establishments
154. The CPT's delegation heard numerous
detailed allegations of ill-treatment inflicted in establishments
of the Judicial Police, the Public Security Police and the
National Republican Guard. The principal form of ill-treatment
alleged was physical assault (including kicks, punches and
blows with the butts of pistols). In addition, the delegation
heard some allegations that detained persons had been subjected
to simultaneous blows to both ears with telephone directories.
Several of the prisoners who made such allegations were
examined by the delegation's medical expert and certain
of them were found to display physical injuries which were
consistent with their allegations.
The existence of such ill-treatment
was corroborated by other reliable sources. In the light
of the information received by its delegation during the
visit to Portugal, the CPT has been led to conclude that
the ill-treatment of persons in police custody is a relatively
common phenomenon.
155. The CPT has examined the safeguards
offered to persons detained by the police in respect of
the prevention of ill-treatment, and has made several recommendations
in this area: detained persons should have the right, as
from the outset of their custody, to inform a close relative
or third party of their detention (any possibility to delay
the exercise of this right to be clearly circumscribed and
made subject to appropriate safeguards); the right of persons
detained by the police to have access to a doctor (including
one of their own choice) should be expressly guaranteed;
a form setting out their rights in a straightforward manner
should be given to detainees at the outset of their period
of police custody; and a code of conduct for police interviews
should be drawn up.
One fundamental safeguard against ill-treatment
by the police, namely access to a lawyer, is already formally
guaranteed under Portuguese law. However, it is clear that
at present there is a marked discrepancy between law and
practice in this area; lawyers rarely if ever become involved
during the initial stages of detention.
156. The CPT has also emphasised the
fundamental importance of appropriate professional training
for police officers, which is an essential element of any
strategy to prevent ill-treatment. Skilled officers will
be able to carry out their duties successfully, without
having recourse to ill-treatment and to cope with the existence
of fundamental safeguards for those detained. It has also
recommended that senior officers deliver the clear message
to their subordinates that ill-treatment is unacceptable
and that it will be severely punished.
157. Conditions of detention in the
police establishments visited by the CPT varied from relatively
good to extremely poor. The situation in the detention area
of the Lisbon Headquarters of the Public Security Police
is of particular concern and it has been recommended that
the Portuguese authorities explore the possibility of withdrawing
from service the existing cellular accommodation.
The CPT has also highlighted a number
of deficiencies in conditions of detention in certain of
the other establishments visited. In particular, the cellular
accommodation at the PSP Headquarters in Santarem left a
great deal to be desired.
B. Prisons
158. Some allegations were heard in
the Judicial Police Group Prison in Lisbon that prisoners
were on occasion roughly treated by prison staff. Certain
prisoners identified the largest of the establishment's
three reception cells as a place where, in the past, prisoners
had been seriously assaulted. The CPT has recommended that
the Portuguese authorities examine whether prison officers
at this establishment are on occasion abusing their authority
by ill-treating prisoners and, if necessary, take remedial
action.
159. The delegation heard very few allegations
of physical ill-treatment of prisoners in Linhó and
Vale de Judeus prisons. As regards the former establishment,
prisoners indicated that there had been a significant improvement
in the situation since 1990. Prisoners in both prisons stated
that, on the whole, their relations with the staff were
satisfactory. Nevertheless, the CPT has requested a full
account of an incident which apparently occurred at Vale
de Judeus Prison in early August 1991.
The delegation heard no allegations
and found no other evidence of ill-treatment of persons
detained at Alfeite Naval Prison. The delegation had the
impression that relations between prisoners and supervisory
staff were good.
160. The treatment of prisoners held
in the Security Unit at Vale de Judeus Prison is a matter
of serious concern to the CPT. Although the Unit was empty
at the time of the delegation's visit (all the indications
being that it had been emptied in anticipation of the visit),
discussions with both prisoners very recently transferred
from the Unit and its staff, together with on-site observations,
enabled the delegation to form a picture of everyday life
there. It became evident that prisoners could be held in
the Unit for extended periods under a solitary confinement-type
regime, without being guaranteed appropriate human contact
or offered purposeful activities. The CPT has recommended
that an immediate inquiry be carried out into the operation
of the Unit.
The reinforcement of procedural safeguards
for those placed in solitary confinement as a special security
measure has also been recommended.
161. Material conditions of detention
in the Judicial Police Group Prison in Lisbon were very
poor. The establishment was grossly overcrowded, the regime
had been reduced to a bare minimum and sanitary facilities
in certain parts of the establishment left a great deal
to be desired. The conditions in which prisoners received
visits from their families were also far from satisfactory.
The CPT has recommended certain specific measures designed
to ameliorate conditions in the establishment. However,
it is also clear that the Portuguese authorities must address
the issue of the function which the Judicial Police Group
Prison is intended to serve and draw the necessary conclusions.
At present the establishment is expected to function as
a remand prison despite only having the resources of a short-term
holding area; not surprisingly, it fails to meet that expectation.
162. Material conditions of detention
at Linhó Prison displayed a number of serious deficiencies.
Above all, the existing "slopping-out" arrangements
were found to be quite unacceptable. The CPT has recommended
certain short-term measures designed to alleviate the present
situation. However, the Committee has also stressed that
the provision of integral sanitation in cells at Linhó
Prison (and of ready access at all times to toilet facilities
in prison establishments in general) should be accorded
a very high priority.
Other shortcomings in material conditions
addressed by the CPT include low temperatures (at least
in part caused by the large number of broken windows in
the establishment) and some degree of overcrowding.
Certain aspects of the regime, notably
the stone-breaking activities at the prison "quarry"
and the lack of out-of-cell activities for prisoners who
have no work are also the subject of particular criticism
and further recommendations.
163. Material conditions of detention
at Vale de Judeus Prison were, on the whole, acceptable
(although the CPT would reiterate that prisoners should,
as soon as possible, be granted ready access to toilet facilities
at all times) and the activities offered to prisoners were
of a good standard.
The delegation also formed a positive
view of both the material conditions of detention and the
regime activities available at Alfeite Naval Prison.
164. Medical services in the three civil
prisons visited were not satisfactory. In each of the establishments,
the health-care team was seriously under resourced and therefore
unable to meet the legitimate needs of those detained. Further,
the delegation found that medical care was often provided
by an inappropriately qualified person. At Linhó
Prison, two nursing staff were carrying out tasks which
were properly those of a doctor, and at Vale de Judeus Prison,
nursing services were provided by a prisoner with no formal
nursing qualifications. The CPT has recommended that the
health care teams at all three prisons be reinforced.
It was also notable that none of the
three prisons could offer in-house or visiting psychiatric
or psychological services to those detained. The CPT has
recommended that steps be taken without delay to provide
prisoners at Linhó and Vale de Judeus with an appropriately
resourced in-house or visiting psychiatric/psychological
service. Such a service should also be provided to those
held in the Judicial Police Group Prison in Lisbon for so
long as that establishment continues to operate as a remand
facility.
165. The CPT has made recommendations
and comments on various other matters, (discipline, complaints
and inspection procedures, food, contact with the outside
world, call systems). Of these, it wishes to underline its
recommendations that all prisoners without exception, including
those undergoing cellular confinement as a disciplinary
sanction, be offered outdoor exercise every day, and that
the current procedures for the inspection of prison establishments
be reviewed.
C. Action on the
CPT's recommendations, comments and requests for information
166. The various recommendations, comments
and requests for information formulated by the CPT are summarised
in Appendix 1.
167. As regards more particularly the
CPT's recommendations, having regard to Article 10, paragraph
2, of the Convention, the CPT requests the Portuguese authorities:
i) to provide within six months an interim
report giving details of how it is intended to implement
the CPT's recommendations and, as the case may be, providing
an account of action already taken (N.B. the CPT has indicated
the urgency of certain of its recommendations);
ii) to provide within twelve months
a follow-up report providing a full account of action taken
to implement the CPT's recommendations.
The CPT trusts that it will also be
possible for the Portuguese authorities to provide in the
above-mentioned interim report reactions to the comments
formulated in this report that are summarised in Appendix
1 as well as replies to the requests for information made.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX 1
SUMMARY OF THE CPT'S RECOMMENDATIONS,
COMMENTS AND REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION
A. Police establishments
1. Torture and other forms of ill-treatment
(a) recommendations
- a very high priority to be given
to human rights education and professional training for
law enforcement officials of all ranks and categories;
experts not belonging to the law enforcement agencies
to be involved in this education and training (paragraph
18);
- an aptitude for interpersonal communication
to be a major factor in the process of recruiting law
enforcement officials and, during the training of such
officials, considerable emphasis to be placed on acquiring
and developing interpersonal communication skills (paragraph
18);
- senior law enforcement officials
to be required to deliver to their subordinates the clear
message that the ill-treatment of detained persons is
not acceptable and will be dealt with severely (paragraph
18).
(b) requests for information
- up-to-date statistics on complaints
about ill-treatment made against the police together with
information on action taken on those complaints (number
of complaints rejected, cases pending, convictions etc.)
(paragraph 19);
- detailed information about the precise
procedure followed when complaints about ill-treatment
by the police are submitted to a Public Prosecutor and,
in particular, about which agency is entrusted with carrying
out investigations into such allegations (paragraph 19);
- information on whether appropriate
action can be taken upon information received which suggests
that ill-treatment has occurred, even in the absence of
a written statement by the alleged victim (paragraph 19).
2. Conditions of detention in the police
establishments visited
recommendations
- conditions of detention in the
different police establishments visited by the delegation
to be reviewed in the light of the remarks made in paragraphs
21 to 34 (paragraph 35);
- appropriate steps to be taken to ensure
that the conditions of detention in all police establishments
meet the requirements indicated in paragraph 21 (paragraph
35);
- the possibility to be explored of
withdrawing from service the existing cellular accommodation
at the Headquarters of the PSP in the Governo Civil,
Lisbon (paragraph 35).
3. Safeguards against the ill-treatment
of persons detained by the police
(a) recommendations
- persons in police custody to have
the right as from the outset of their custody to have the
fact that they have been detained notified to a family member
or a third party of their choice; any possibility exceptionally
to delay the exercise of this right to be clearly circumscribed
and made subject to appropriate safeguards (e.g. such delay
to be recorded in writing together with the reasons therefor
and to require the approval of a senior officer or public
prosecutor) (paragraph 41);
- the possibility for a person detained
by the police to have access to a doctor (including, if
he so wishes, one of his own choice) to be expressly guaranteed
(paragraph 45);
- all medical examinations of persons
in police custody to be conducted out of the hearing, and
preferably out of the sight, of police officers (paragraph
45);
- the results of all medical examinations
as well as relevant statements by the detainee and the doctor's
conclusions to be formally recorded by the doctor and made
available to the detainee and his lawyer (paragraph 45);
- a form setting out in a straightforward
manner the rights of those held in police custody to be
given systematically to such persons at the outset of their
custody; this form to be available in different languages;
the detainee to be asked to sign a statement attesting that
he has been informed of his rights (paragraph 48);
- a code of conduct on police interviews
to be drawn up addressing inter alia the following matters:
the systematic informing of the detainee of the identity
(name and/or identity number) of those present at the interview;
the permissible length of an interview; rest periods between
interviews and breaks during an interview; places in which
an interview may take place; whether the detainee may be
required to stand while being questioned; the interviewing
of persons who are under the influence of drugs, alcohol,
medicine, or who are in a post-traumatic state; the code
to provide also that a record be kept of the time at which
interviews start and end, of any request made by the detainee
during an interview, and of the persons present during each
interview (paragraph 50).
(b) comments
- having a doctor permanently on call
at the Judicial Police Headquarters in Lisbon would
be a most appropriate development (paragraph 46).
(c) requests for information
- confirmation that a person detained
by the police has a right of access to a lawyer as from
the outset of his custody (paragraph 43);
- information on whether the right
of access to a lawyer includes the right for the person
concerned to benefit from the presence of a lawyer during
questioning (paragraph 43);
- the comments of the Portuguese authorities
on information received by the delegation which suggested
that it was extremely rare for a detained person to have
access to a lawyer during the initial period of police
custody and that, in practice, access to assistance from
a legally qualified person was often not available even
during later stages of the proceedings (paragraph 44);
- information on consideration being
given to the idea of having a doctor permanently on call
at the Judicial Police Headquarters in Lisbon (paragraph
46);
- clarification about the evidential
value of statements made to the police or a Public Prosecutor
prior to a detainee's first appearance before a judge
(paragraph 50);
- information on whether a person
held on remand could be returned to police premises for
the purposes of further questioning (paragraph 51);
- information on the precise procedures
followed by an investigating or trial judge when confronted
with allegations by the person detained that evidence
presented against him was obtained as a result of torture
or other forms of ill-treatment (paragraph 52).
B. Prisons
1. Torture and physical ill-treatment
(a) recommendations
- the Portuguese authorities to examine
whether prison officers in the Lisbon Judicial Police
Group Prison are on occasion abusing their authority by
ill-treating prisoners and, if necessary, take remedial
action (paragraph 58).
(b) comments
- the recommendation already made
in paragraph 18 on the subject of interpersonal communication
skills applies equally to prison staff (paragraph 62).
(c) requests for information
- information on the number and nature
of complaints made during the last two years of ill-treatment
by prison officers in the Lisbon Judicial Police Group
Prison and on the action taken upon them (paragraph
58);
- the results of the administrative
enquiry into an incident which occurred at Linhó
Prison in early March 1991, during which prisoners were
said to have been ill-treated (paragraph 59);
- a full account of an incident at
Vale de Judeus Prison in early August 1991, during
which a German and a Dutch prisoner were said to have
been physically assaulted by security forces (paragraph
59);
- the comments of the Portuguese authorities on the subject
of special safeguards during the intervention in prisons
of outside security forces (paragraph 60).
2. Solitary confinement
(a) recommendations
- an inquiry to be carried out immediately
into the operation of the Security Unit at Vale de
Judeus Prison, the aims of this inquiry to be inter
alia to ensure:
that no mentally disordered person
is held within the Unit;
that the regime applied to the Unit's
occupants offers them purposeful activities and guarantees
them appropriate human contact;
that no prisoner is held in the Unit
for longer than is strictly necessary (paragraph 68);
- any prisoner who is placed in solitary
confinement as a special security measure or whose solitary
confinement is renewed to be informed in writing of the
reasons for the decision, unless compelling security requirements
dictate otherwise; the prisoner concerned to be given
an opportunity to present his views on the matter to the
relevant authority before any final decision on placement
in, or renewal of, solitary confinement is taken; placement
in solitary confinement for an extended period to be subject
to a full review at least every three months, if necessary
based on a medical-social report (paragraph 69);
- all necessary steps to be taken
to ensure that the regulations and the practice are in
accordance with the following requirements: whenever a
prisoner in solitary confinement asks for a medical doctor
- or a prison officer asks for one on his behalf -the
doctor should be called immediately to examine the prisoner;
the results of the medical examination including an assessment
of the prisoners physical and mental state and, if necessary,
the likely consequences of continuing solitary confinement,
should be set out in a written report, to be sent to the
relevant authorities (paragraph 70).
(b) requests for information
- information on the legal remedies
available to a prisoner who wishes to challenge a decision
placing him in solitary confinement as a security measure
(paragraph 69).
3. Conditions of detention in general
(i) Lisbon Judicial Police Group
Prison
(a) recommendations
- immediate steps to be taken to
reduce substantially the number of prisoners held; preferably,
the prison should be kept within the limits of its official
capacity of 80 (paragraph 76);
- a high priority to be given to
the planned refurbishments designed to enable all prisoners
to have ready access to a toilet facility at all times
(paragraph 76);
- the establishment as a whole to
be restored to a good state of repair as soon as possible,
and inmates to be provided with suitable cleaning equipment
in order to enable them to maintain their living quarters
in a satisfactory state of cleanliness (paragraph 77);
- immediate steps to be taken to
ensure that all prisoners are allowed at least one hour
of outdoor exercise every day (paragraph 79);
- the prison exercise yard to be
resurfaced and means of shelter against inclement weather
to be installed (paragraph 79);
- concerning the future of the establishment,
the Portuguese authorities should adopt one of two alternatives:
either the Judicial Police
Group Prison should revert to its original function
as a short-term holding area in which people could be
held for a maximum of two to three weeks prior to their
transfer to a normal prison facility. In that case the
existing situation would be rendered acceptable by reducing
overcrowding, making the necessary improvements to the
material conditions of detention and guaranteeing at
least one hour of outdoor exercise per day;
or it should be formally
recognised as a remand facility in which prisoners may
be held for extended periods - i.e. for periods of a
month or more. In this case, the programme of activities
offered to prisoners at the establishment would have
to be radically improved. The aim should be to ensure
that prisoners in the establishment are able to spend
a reasonable part of the day (8 hours or more) outside
their dormitories and cells, engaged in purposeful activities
of a varied nature (education, sport, work with vocational
value)
(paragraph 82).
(ii) Linhó Prison
(a) recommendations
- serious efforts to be made to
ensure that, except for in exceptional circumstances,
prisoners are held one to a cell (paragraph 83);
- a high priority to be accorded
to the reglazing of broken windows and prisoners to
be provided with heating facilities during the winter
months (paragraph 84);
- the provision of integral sanitation
in cells at Linhó Prison (and of ready access
at all times to toilet facilities in prison establishments
in general) to be accorded a very high priority (paragraph
88);
- pending the provision of integral
sanitation at Linhó:
the slopping-out facilities on the
upper floors of the detention blocks to be brought into
operation;
prisoners to be provided with appropriate means to clean
and disinfect their buckets;
prison officers to receive clear instructions to the
effect that a request made by a prisoner during the
day to be released from his cell for the purposes of
using a toilet facility should be granted, unless significant
security considerations require otherwise
(paragraph 88);
- immediate steps to be taken to
provide all prisoners who work in the prison "quarry"
with proper protective clothing. This should include
boots with protective toecaps and protective gloves
for all workers; in addition, those required to break
the stones should have goggles and those required to
load it onto the back of trucks should be issued with
safety headwear (paragraph 92);
- stone-breaking activities to cease
as soon as possible and to be replaced by other work
of a more challenging and vocational nature (paragraph
93);
- individualised custody plans to
be drawn up for all sentenced prisoners (paragraph 96);
- a very high priority to be given
to developments to reform the regime activities offered
to inactive prisoners, both by reducing the period of
27 hours for which they can be locked in their cells
and by employing additional staff to organise activities
for them (paragraph 99);
- the Portuguese authorities to
review staffing levels at night in the establishment
(paragraph 100).
(b) comments
- invitation to the Portuguese authorities
to develop regime activities for prisoners in the establishment
(paragraph 95).
(c) requests for information
- the comments of the Portuguese
authorities on complaints heard from prisoners that
under the present laundry arrangements their bed sheets
may not be changed for weeks (paragraph 89);
- clarification of the reasons for
the classification of certain prisoners as "inactive"
(paragraph 97).
(iii) Vale de Judeus Prison
comments
- prisoners should as soon as possible
be granted ready access at all times to toilet facilities
(paragraph 103).
4. Medical services in the three civil
prisons visited
a) recommendations
- immediate steps to be taken to ensure
a more frequent attendance by a doctor and a nurse at
the Lisbon Judicial Police Group Prison, and to
upgrade the establishment's medical facilities (paragraph
113);
- the post of prison doctor at Linhó
to be converted to a full-time position and the nursing
staff to be reinforced (paragraph 116);
- the de facto presence in Vale
de Judeus Prison of at least one full-time doctor
and the equivalent of two full-time nurses to be guaranteed
(paragraph 118);
- steps to be taken without delay
to provide prisoners at Linhó and Vale de Judeus
with an appropriately resourced in-house or visiting psychiatric/psychological
service; such a service also to be provided to those held
in the Judicial Police Group Prison in Lisbon for
so long as that establishment continues to operate as
a remand facility in which people may be detained for
considerable periods of time (as distinct from as a short-term
holding area) (paragraph 125);
- every newly-arrived prisoner to
be properly interviewed and, if necessary, physically
examined by a medical doctor as soon as possible after
his admission; save for in exceptional circumstances,
this interview/examination to be carried out on the day
of admission, especially insofar as remand establishments
are concerned (paragraph 126);
- all medical examinations of prisoners
(whether on arrival or at a later stage) to be conducted
out of the hearing, and preferably out of the sight, of
prison officers and the results of the examination (including
any relevant statements by the prisoner and the doctor's
conclusions) to be formally recorded and made available
to the prisoner (paragraph 127);
- prison staff should always be able
to contact a doctor capable of offering advice on emergency
cases and, when medically appropriate, of attending the
prison within a short period of time (paragraph 129);
- someone competent to provide first
aid should always be present on prison premises, preferably
someone with a recognised nursing qualification (paragraph
129).
(b) comments
- the use of prisoners to provide
health care services is a highly questionable practice,
regardless of whether they possess appropriate qualifications
(paragraph 122);
- invitation to the Portuguese authorities
to draw up a suicide prevention programme, taking into
account the points made in paragraph 132 (paragraph 132);
- invitation to the Portuguese authorities
to take action to remedy the shortcomings in health-care
working practices identified in paragraph 134 (paragraph
134).
(c) requests for information
- information on the number and causes
of deaths in Portuguese prisons over the last three years
(paragraph 133).
5. Other issues related to the CPT's
mandate
(a) recommendations
- the four bar-fronted cells in the
Discipline Unit at Linhó Prison not to be
used for the execution of disciplinary sanctions (paragraph
136);
- all prisoners without exception,
including those undergoing cellular confinement as a disciplinary
sanction, to be offered the opportunity to take at least
one hour of exercise in the open air every day (paragraph
137);
- the Portuguese authorities to review
the current procedures for the inspection of prison establishments
in the light of the remarks in paragraph 141 (paragraph
141);
- facilities at the Judicial Police
Group Prison in Lisbon for visits from family members
to be improved without delay (paragraph 147);
- the visiting facilities at Vale
de Judeus Prison to be enlarged substantially or some
other system of regulating the number of prisoners who
receive visits at any one time to be found, without reducing
their overall visit entitlement (paragraph 147);
- arrangements at Vale de Judeus
Prison for telephone contacts between prisoners and
their families to be reviewed (paragraph 148);
- all cells to be equipped with a
call system, preferably linked to a central monitoring
point, staffed on a permanent basis (paragraph 151);
- implementation of plans to provide
all prisoners in Portugal with ready access to toilet
facilities to be accorded a very high priority (paragraph
153).
(b) comments
- a right of appeal to a higher authority
should exist in respect of all types of disciplinary sanctions
(paragraph 135);
- the in-cell toilet facilities in
the disciplinary cells at the Judicial Police Group
Prison in Lisbon were in a deplorable state (paragraph
136);
- temperatures in the cells of the
Discipline Unit at Linhó Prison were very
low (paragraph 136);
- it would be desirable for the cells
in the Discipline Unit at Vale de Judeus Prison to
be equipped with a table and chair (para 136);
- complaints about the quality and
the quantity of the food were widespread in each of
the three civil prisons visited (paragraph 142);
- invitation to the Portuguese authorities
to upgrade the kitchen facilities at the Judicial Police
Group Prison in Lisbon and at Linhó Prison
(paragraph 143);
- the introduction of a self-service
food distribution system might usefully be considered
at Linhó and Vale de Judeus Prisons, and
improvements could be made as regards the quantity and
quality of eating utensils provided to prisoners (paragraph
144);
- importance of retaining a certain
flexibility in the application of the visiting rules to
those whose families live a long way from the prison (making
frequent visits impractical) (paragraph 146);
- importance of giving prisoners who
do not receive regular visits improved opportunities for
telephone contact with their families (paragraph 148);
- invitation to the Portuguese authorities
to explore the possibility of introducing extended visits
in order to enable prisoners to maintain family and personal
(including sexual) relations (paragraph 149);
(c) requests for information
- information on whether a prisoner
has the right to be heard orally on the subject of an
infraction of which he is accused (paragraph 135);
- the comments of the Portuguese authorities
on the fact that certain of the prisoners whom the delegation
met in the Disciplinary Unit at Linhó Prison had
been waiting for some time (in one case, for 13 days)
for a formal decision concerning the imposition of a disciplinary
sanction (paragraph 135);
- confirmation that prisoners' communications
with the office of the Ombudsman are not subject to any
control by the prison authorities and details of any relevant
legal texts. In addition, information about any other
bodies outside the prison administration to which prisoners
may have confidential access (paragraph 139);
- details of the plans to provide
all prisoners with ready access to toilet facilities and,
more particularly, of the timescale within which it is
envisaged that the necessary work will be completed (paragraph
153).
APPENDIX 2
LIST OF THE NATIONAL AUTHORITIES AND
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS WITH WHICH THE DELEGATION HELD
CONSULTATIONS
A. National authorities
Ministry of Justice
- Dr. Alvaro Laborinho Lucio, Minister
of Justice
- Dr. F. Duarte, Director General of Prison Services
- Dr. Gabriel Catarino, Deputy Director of the Judicial
Police
- Dra. Maria José Mota de Matos, Liaison Officer
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Dr. Rui Carmo, Liaison Officer
Ministry of Defence
- Dr. Restelo Eugenio Ramos, Minister
for Defence Procurement
- Brigadeiro José Machado Graça Malaquias,
Liaison Officer
Ministry of the Interior
- Dr. Dias Loureiro, Minister of the
Interior
- Dr. Gomes Dias, Liaison Officer
Ministry of Health
- Dra. Maria de Lurdes Cordeiro Subtil,
Liaison Officer
Office of the Ombudsman
- Dr. Silveira, Deputy Ombudsman
- Dr. Vaz Serra, Deputy Ombudsman
B. Non-governmental organisations
Representatives of the following non-governmental
organisations
- Portuguese Bar Association
- Compagneiro
- Forum - Justicia e Liberdade
APPENDIX 3
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
A. Fundamental human rights safeguards
1. Article 25 of the Portuguese Constitution
(6) provides that the
moral and physical integrity of persons shall be inviolable
and that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment. Under the
terms of Article 32(6) of the Constitution,-
"Any evidence obtained by torture,
force, violation of the physical or moral integrity of the
individual ... shall be of no effect."
These provisions are reproduced in the
Code of Criminal Procedure (7),
(section 126).
2. The Law on the Judicial Police
(8) imposes upon officers of that force
the "special duty" not to use torture or inhuman,
cruel or degrading treatment and not to carry out any order
or instruction to use such treatment (section 91(1)(b)).
Further, section 91(2) of the Law provides that disciplinary
proceedings may not be taken against police officers who
refuse to obey such orders.
3. In addition, according to Article
8 of the Constitution, the rules and principles of international
law, including those contained in international conventions,
shall apply in domestic law for as long as they remain internationally
binding upon the Portuguese State. In this respect it should
be recalled that Portugal has ratified inter alia the European
Convention on Human Rights (and recognised the competence
of the European Commission on Human Rights to receive individual
petitions under Article 25 of that Convention), the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights together with its
Optional Protocol, and the United Nations Convention Against
Torture.
B. Detention by the police
4. The period for which people may be
detained by the police is subject to the limitations set
out in Article 28(1) of the Constitution, which provides
that:
"Detention without judicial charge
shall, within forty-eight hours, be subject to the scrutiny
of a court, for validation or continuation of detention;
the court shall hear the reasons for the detention, inform
the prisoner thereof, interrogate the latter and allow him
or her the chance to defend him or herself."
This forty-eight hour time limit is
repeated in section 254 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
5. The police may arrest without a warrant
issued by a court both those caught in flagrante delicto
and, under certain conditions (cf. section 257 (2) of the
Code of Criminal Procedure), other criminal suspects. Such
arrests must be notified immediately to the Public Prosecutor
(cf. section 259).
6. Persons detained by the police do
not have the right to immediately inform a relative or third
party of their choice of the fact of their detention by
the police. Article 28(3) of the Constitution only expressly
provides for such a right from the moment when a court order
involving deprivation of liberty becomes effective.
7. Access to a lawyer is governed by
Article 32 of the Constitution, taken together with section
61(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 32 of the
Portuguese Constitution provides that,
"Criminal proceedings shall provide
all the necessary safeguards for the defence" and that
the accused "shall have the right to choose and to
be assisted by counsel at all stages of the proceedings".
This is supplemented by section 61(1)
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which deals with the
rights and duties of accused persons; these include, inter
alia,
" ... (d) The right to choose his
own defence counsel or ask the court to appoint one;
(e) The right to be assisted by a defence
counsel at all stages of the proceedings in which he participates,
and, if detained, to communicate with his defence counsel,
even in private."
8. With regard to the provision of information
to individuals deprived of their liberty by the police,
section 61(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure also provides
that an accused person shall have the right to be informed
by the court authority or the criminal investigation department
before which he is to appear of the rights available to
him. In terms of section 61(1) these include, in addition
to the right to a lawyer, the right to be present during
any procedural acts which directly concern him; to be heard
by the investigating court or judge whenever they are called
upon to take any decision affecting him; to remain silent;
to intervene in the inquiry and investigatory procedure;
and, in accordance with law, to appeal any decision taken
against him.
Section 61(1) is reproduced on a card
carried by police officers which is apparently read to those
arrested by them.
C. Imprisonment
9. The Portuguese Prison Regulations
(9)
provide, at section 2, that imprisonment
"...shall be geared to the prisoner's social rehabilitation,
preparing him for a future way of life which is socially
responsible and crime free", although this must be
balanced against the need to "protect society, preventing
the perpetration of further criminal offences"
Section 3 of the Prison Regulations
establishes five principles (or "modalities of enforcement")
for the execution of sentences, which:
- shall be geared to securing respect
for the person of the prisoner and for those of his rights
which remain unaffected by the sentence;
- shall be approximated as far as possible
to the conditions of normal outside life;
- shall not be such as to create situations
involving serious risks to the protection of society or
the individual prison community;
- shall be geared to prompting the prisoner
to participate in his own social rehabilitation, particularly
in the formulation of his own personal rehabilitation plan
and,
- shall always be enforced with absolute
impartiality and without discrimination
10. The Prison Regulations also contain
detailed provisions governing the different aspects of prisoners'
daily lives. Particular consideration will be given in what
follows to those issues which are related to the mandate
of the CPT and considered in the body of the report.
11. One such issue is that of placement
of prisoners in non-voluntary solitary confinement/segregation.
This is governed by sections 111 et. seq. of the Prison
Regulations, under which "special security measures"
may be applied to a prisoner if "...his behaviour or
his mental state are such as to suggest a risk of escape
or the commission of acts of violence against himself or
against persons or objects." The measures which may
be authorised include holding the prisoner in a special
security cell.
12. Confinement of a prisoner in a special
security cell for a period exceeding 15 days requires the
approval of the Director-General of Prison Services (section
113(4)) and such confinement may not in any case exceed
one month (section 113(2)). If, after the latter period,
the conditions leading to implementation of the special
measure still obtain, the prisoner must be transferred to
a "security establishment or section" (section
113(3)).
In addition the law provides that a
prisoner held in a special security cell must be seen by
the establishment's doctor and be given regular check-ups
for as long as he remains there; the doctor must report
to the Director on the prisoner's physical and mental state
of health and, if appropriate, on the need to modify the
special security measure imposed (section 113(6)).
13. Chapter X of the Prison Regulations
deals with the provision of medical services in prisons.
Section 95(1) states that,-
"Every prison must, as far as possible
and in accordance with its needs, have a medical service,
an infirmary service and a pharmaceutical service to meet
the prisoners' essential requirements in terms of health
care and prevention."
In addition, section 101(1) provides
that, in general, "...it is incumbent upon the prison
medical officer to attend to the physical and mental health
of prisoners, and in particular: (a) to conduct daily visits
to ill prisoners and to all prisoners in need of his attention...".
14. Disciplinary procedures are the
subject of sections 128 to 137 of the Prison Regulations.
These include the principle of proportionality (section
130) and provisions on the procedure to be followed in imposing
such measures and the conditions in which they must be implemented.
15. Section 131(2) states that before
taking any disciplinary action, "...the Director must
examine the prisoner using written procedure" and according
to section 131(5), any decision to impose disciplinary measures,
"...shall be communicated orally to the prisoner and
shall be set down in writing, accompanied by the reasons
therefor."
The Regulations provide that disciplinary
penalties may be applied in respect of a list of specific
offences and, generally, to any prisoner "whose conduct
is inconsistent with order and discipline in the prison
and the aims of the enforcement of the prison sentence"
(section 132).
16. The types of disciplinary measures
which may be applied range from admonition through partial
or total withdrawal of privileges to confinement to individual
quarters or solitary confinement in disciplinary cells for
periods of up to one month (section 133(1)(a) to (i)).
Disciplinary cells must be certified
as fit for habitation by the prison medical service and
in particular must contain "...appropriate furniture,
adequate space and sufficient ventilation and lighting for
prisoners to read and study when authorised to do so"
(section 134(1)). Before a disciplinary measure is enforced,
and when justified by the nature of the measure, the prisoner
is to be examined by the medical officer, (section 137).
17. With regard to complaints procedures,
it should be noted in particular that section 139 of the
Prison Regulations grants all prisoners the right of access
to the supervisory judge, who, under the terms of section
23 of Legislative Decree No.783/76 of 29 April 1976, is
required to visit each establishment at least once a month.
In the determination of complaints submitted
to him, the supervisory judge is required to attempt to
reach a settlement which has the agreement of the Director
of the prison; however,-
"Where the Judge and the Director
are not in agreement, the subject shall be submitted for
examination by the prison's Technical Council, which shall
settle the issue by a majority vote" (section 139(3)).
18. Inspection procedures are the responsibility
of the Directorate-General of Prison Services. Section 156
of the Prison Regulations provides that general inspections
"...shall be conducted annually, without prejudice
to the exceptional inspections necessitated by specific
incidents" and that, for administrative reasons "...the
Minister of Justice may instruct either judges or other
officials from the Public Prosecutor's Office to conduct
inquiries and investigations or disciplinary procedures."
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