NCJ Number
156415
Journal
European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (1995) Pages: 2-17
Date Published
1995
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article examines the work of and issues pertinent to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
Abstract
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) was established in Strasbourg in 1989. The CPT is charged with establishing, documenting, and assessing detention conditions in member states in the context of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. None of the CPT's visit reports have documented cases or systematic practices of torture, although it has made a public statement about the widespread practice of torture and ill-treatment of persons held in police custody in Turkey, since the situation there has not improved even after three visits by a CPT delegation. The CPT gives special attention to three rights of persons held in police custody: the right to notify a confidential third party of one's custody, the right to consult an attorney, and the right to be examined by a doctor of one's choice. Committee observations have shown the risk of ill-treatment by prison personnel to be considerably less in quantity and quality than the hazards of police custody. The detention of aliens presents particular difficulties regarding equal treatment and the prohibition of discrimination. Female detainees pose a particular problem in the provision of equal treatment, since the facilities and programs for women inmates do not equal those of men. Since the CPT did not begin its activities until 1989, its effectiveness and impact on the all-European conditions of deprivation of liberty and penal detention. CPT is intended to be an instrument in the fight against torture that is intended to stop the application of torturous measures altogether. 66 footnotes