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Comment to the Report of the Czech
Republic on performance of the obligations arising from the
Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment 1
Submitted by the Counselling
Centre for Citizenship/Civil
and Human Rights, April 2001
Executive Summary
The Counselling Centre for Citizenship/Civil and Human Rights
("CCC/CHR"), a non-governmental human rights organization
based in Prague, respectfully submits written comments concerning
the Czech Republic for consideration by the Committee Against
Torture. This comments compliments the Government Country
Report but additionally, provides an independent objective
assessment of the implementation progress on 4 development
areas namely in respect to the Article 11 of the Convention
against Torture:
- material conditions in pretrial detention
and prison institutions
- material conditions in department for
prisoners serving the life sentence
- police violence
- egulation of institution executing
institutional and preventive care
The report also points out the relationship
between the government performance on the above mentioned
commitments and the real situations in the Czech Republic.
Last, but not the least the report attempts to suggest recommendations
and remedies for the situation, in the hope that they will
be implemented and that torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment will soon cease to exist.
Expertise and Interest of the CCC/CHR
The Counselling Centre for Citizenship/Civil and Human Rights
is a non-governmental organization that monitors the observation
of human rights in the Czech Republic and draws attention
to human rights violations. Since July 1996, the organization
implemented programs for the promotion of human rights, including
the rights of persons deprived of liberty and the rights within
the sphere of criminal justice. The main scope of organization's
activities focuses on problems of the racial discrimination
in the Czech Republic. CCC/CHR published numerous reports
and submissions regarding the citizenship law and its amendment,
the criminal code, the criminal procedural code, the law on
execution of custody and imprisonment, the residency law and
the law on aliens. Additionally, the organization advocates
for the promotion and respect of broader application in Czech
law of international human rights treaties to which the Czech
Republic is bound. The activities of the CCC/CHR are based
on projects funded by the Open Society Institute, the Open
Society Fund, the UNHCR Prague and the Know How Fund of the
British Embassy and the Fund of the Canadian Embassy.
We welcome the opportunity for the Committee to utilize our
report in analyzing where the government of the Czech Republic
has failed to fulfil its commitments under the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman and Degrading
Treatment or Punishment.
Discussion
Article 11
The Czech republic has failed to comply
with its obligation to keep under systematic review rules
on arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected
to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment. In this
regard, we would like to point out deficiencies in following
conditions:
Material conditions
Cell occupancy in pre-trial detention
The Amendment to the Law No. 293/1993 of the Coll., the Law
on Execution of Pre-trial Detention (further only "the Pre-trial
Detention Law"), from June 2000 2
made a serious restriction as for the formal provisions regarding
the material conditions which are to be offered to remand
prisoners. Former provisions of the Pre-trial Detention Law
granted to detainees a minimum accommodation area of least
3.5 m2 per prisoner. This obligation was drop upon a mentioned
amendment and current law does not contain any guidance as
for the minimum space for detainees. The reasoning of the
Czech government to this measure was a need to react to a
number of complaints from detainees who had been complaining
against permanent violations of their rights. Their complaints
had been acknowledged as legitimate but could not be remedied
due to a gross overcrowding of prisons. However, we strongly
believe the overcrowding of prisons is a complex problem that
cannot be addressed through restricting a minimum accommodation
space for individual prisoners.
Medical issues
The quality of medical service provided to prisoners is unsatisfactory.
We recommend prison hospitals and prison medical centers were
subordinated to the general medical system under the Ministry
of Health and not the General Prisons Service. There is necessary
to improve the medical staff in these institutions as there
still remain a great number of individuals who are refused
to be employed elsewhere (e.g alcoholics, retired persons,
individuals with a prior criminal history or otherwise stigmatized
individuals).
Visits
According to Czech Law on Imprisonment, offenders in the pre-trial
detention - for the reason of the danger they will influence
the investigation of circumstances important for the criminal
procedure- are entitled to visits only under the conditions
and approval of criminal procedure authority3.
The Centre is aware that this institute is often abused in
a form of pressure on offenders as the criminal procedure
authorities often offer to make favorable conditions if an
offender "cooperates" within the investigation. It is worthwhile
to stress that the visits in the pre-trial detention are held
under a close observance of the Prison staff and eventually
also in a presence of criminal procedure authorities4.
We recommend the above mentioned restriction did not cover
the visits of closed relatives. The pre-trial detentions are
generally very lengthy and thus preventing the pre-trial detainees
to safeguard their relations with their family, especially
with their spouse or partner and their children. The continuation
of such relations can be of critical importance for all concerned.
Control mechanisms
Currently, there is no outside control of the prison system
and there is no independent and impartial body for the review
of the prisoners complaints. The existence of effective mechanisms
for examining prisoners' complaints is a basic premise ill-treatment
in prisons. However, the Czech prisoners do not have any avenues
of complaint other then inside the context of the prison system.
There are only a formal provisions both in the Law on Pre-trial
Detention5 and
in the Imprisonment Law6
that give the possibility to forward their complaints to bodies
of the State administration of the Czech Republic. In practice,
the review is entirely internal. Prisoners are submitting
their complaints in the first instance to the complaint department
of the prison against that the complaint is aimed. In the
second instance, the complaints are reviewed by the General
Directory of Prisons. The system is defective also as for
the manner in that the issues in the complaint are reviewed.
The officer in charge of a prison's internal complaints department
enjoys specific legal authority to act as both investigating
officer and adjudicator in respect of prisoners' complaints
against his fellow officers, including in cases involving
suspicion of criminal behavior by prison officers. The manner
in which hearings into prisoners' complaints are conducted
could easily dissuade them from pursuing their grievances.
In particular, inmates are routinely offered the opportunity
to withdraw their complaints, failing which they are required
formally to declare that, if their complaints are to be adjudged
unfounded, they accept that will themselves be liable to criminal
prosecution.
Due to these defects of the system, only a small number of
complaints is approved. For example, in 1999 there was 90.1%
of all complaints by pre-trial detainees and 90.2% of all
complaints of sentence prisoners was considered ill-founded;
in 1998 it was 90.8% in pre-trial detention and 93.7% for
the prisons; in 1997 it was 86.9% for the pre-trial detention
and 92.1% for the prisons and etc.
In order to prosecute and prevent ill-treatment of prisoners,
it is necessary the Czech republic established an effective
and independent system of control over the prisoners complaints
and measure preventing victimization of persons filling complaints.
Pre-trial Detention of Juveniles
In regard to the situation of pre-trial detention of juveniles
(those aged 15-18 years of age) we would like to point out
to the Amendment to the Pre-trial Detention Law from June
2000 dropped in general provisions governing the accommodation
of prisoners the obligation to house juveniles separately
from adult prisoners. The reason presented by the Government
represented by the General Prison Directorate was that this
would benefit those juveniles who suffer harassment from other
inmates. Thus, the presence of an adult inmate can be indeed
positive. However, we would like to stress out the state cannot
transform the obligation to maintain the order in prisons
to another prisoner. Moreover, there can hardly be expected
the adult prisoners will "calm down" juvenile through adequate
discussion7.
This solution is placing juvenile prisoners to a danger of
physical and psychological abuses of other prisoners with
a support of the government. Relevant provisions must be immediately
amended and juveniles housed solely with inmates of their
age category.
Pre-trial Detention of Women with Children and Pregnant
Women
The Czech legislation on execution of pre-trial detention
has not been modify in order to prevent inhuman treatment
of women with children or pregnant women. Current situation
does not result in a violation of rights of child but often
constitutes an inhuman and cruel treatment of women. For instance,
on 18 January 2001 a woman (who was taken to pre-trial detention
in 8th month of pregnancy) was transferred from prison to
a regular hospital only for a time of birth. Immediately after
giving the birth, she was escorted back to prison and the
child to an orphanage. Only after two weeks, the prison gave
the permission to be escorted to orphanage daily for 5 hours
and breast-feed the child. We recommend the adoption of special
provisions governing detention in case of pregnancy to eliminate
harmful effects of current practice on mothers and their children.
Material Conditions in Department for Prisoners Serving
the Life Sentence
The Law No. 169/1999 of the Coll., the Law on Execution of
the Imprisonment Sentence (further only "the Imprisonment
Law"), in connection with the provisions of the Law No. 140/1961
of the Coll., the Criminal Code, provides that the purpose
of imprisonment is to protect the society from perpetrators
of crimes, prevent sentenced prisoners from engaging in further
criminal activities and to "educate them for proper life as
a citizen"8.
In furtherance of that rehabilitative aim, sentenced prisoners
are to be offered a work of vocational value, as well as educational
and cultural activities. Those activities are to form part
of "resocialization programs", adapted to the security status
of the prison concerned; such programs are to be subject to
regular review. The Imprisonment Law in its further provisions
that regulate the execution of the life sentence makes the
exceptions from these rules as it provides that the goal of
the execution of the life imprisonment is to "isolate the
prisoner in a prison institution and guide his behavior in
a manner to correspond with good morals"9.
The provisions of the Imprisonment Law make exceptions also
as for the conditions of prisoners serving the life sentence
when stating "(v) visits, outdoor exercise and execution of
disciplinary punishment are executed apart from other prisoners"
and " life sentenced prisoners are accommodated alone"10.
As a result, inmates serving life sentences - in Mírov prison
- are subjected to an extremely impoverished regime. The life
sentenced prisoners do not have access to educational activities
and most of them are not allowed to work. Apart from daily
outdoor exercise, they spent their time mostly alone in their
cells with no possibility to dwell outside and eventually
have other contacts with other persons than prison-guards.
This equals to a solitary confinement. Also the resignation
of the Czech republic on education and resocialization of
life sentenced prisoners is inhuman and degrading: long-term
imprisonment is widely considered to have a number of desocializing
effects upon inmates. In addition to becoming "institutionalized",
such prisoners may experience a range of psychological problems
(including loss of self-esteem and impairment of social skills).
They have a tendency to become increasingly detached from
the world into which they might eventually be released (vis-a
vis the possibility to be released on parole after serving
20 years).
Currently, there is undergoing a construction of a new department
for life sentenced prisoners in Valdice prison with the same
conditions as in Mírov.
These are particularly serious failings and the situation
is a great concern for us. In our view, the regimes which
are offered to prisoners serving long sentences should seek
to compensate for above mentioned effects in a positive and
proactive way and life sentenced prisoners should be among
the first to be offered educational and work opportunities.
We recommend in the construction there was accepted the recommendations
of NGOs active in the field of prisoners rights and to establish
a possibility for life sentenced prisoner to be accommodated
alone only with his consent with a possibility to be re-housed
in a cell with other inmates upon his request.
Police violence
We are particularly concerned with increased level of police
violence occurring especially at occasions of demonstrations
of ecological movements. In this regard we would like to point
out to the police conduct against demonstration of Global
Street party on 16 May 1998 and during the demonstrations
against the meeting of International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank in September 2000. Both conducts represent a serious
abuse of power from the side of the police and violation of
many human rights of demonstrators.
For example during the Global Street Party, there was reported
that 64 arrested or detained persons (out of whom there was
22 minors and 13 women) were tortured. Witnesses reported
beating with police stick, kicking to genitals and kidneys,
forcing to run through police corridors, not allowing arrested
to use bathroom, placing them into overcrowded cells(although
many cells were empty) and systematically humiliated. This
ill-practices were conducted in police premises in Prague
in Bartolomějská street and in a police hospital in Na Míčankách.
Similar practices had been reported during the demonstration
against IMF with little or no action from the state to investigate
properly the complaints against the police conduct and remedy
the victims of abuse.
Execution of Institutional and Protective Care
The Czech government failed in its commitment to review the
practices resulting in ill-treatment in the institution of
protective care for children. The system provides the education
of children that cannot be raised by their legal representatives.
In the Czech republic these children dwell there for long
periods of time: about 50% of all children remain there for
more than 2 years. The execution of protective and institutional
care in the Czech republic is not govern by any legislative
norm but only by several decrees and instructions issued by
the Ministry of Education. Even a current draft proposal of
a new law does not bring any significant changes in this area
as it only describes the situation and some of its provisions
constitute the violations of the rights established in the
Convention of the Rights of the Child.
The research conducted in these institution by the governmental
Council for Human Rights in 2001 found that the disciplinary
punishments in selected institutions could be considered inhuman
and cruel. They include prohibition to visit their families,
isolation in rooms comparable with solitary confinement, prohibition
to receive more food, wear special cloths, to be ostracize
by other when obliged to kneel in front of the room, confiscation
of personal possession, throwing all personal possession on
the floor and physical punishments. The research identify
that in selected institutions, for example 10% of all children
had a personal correspondence censored; in 100% of review
of personal possession the children were not present at the
control; 20% cannot choose what to wear; 9% of the children
are verbally abused by the institution staff; 18% of children
confirmed they very subjected to physical violence from the
staff.
We recommend the Czech government took immediate action to
remedy mentioned problems through appropriate legislative
and implementation measures.
Notes:
1 Second
Periodic Report of the Czech Republic from 12 November 1999
2
Amendment No. 208/2000
3
Article 14 para 2 of the Law on Pre-trial Detention
4
Article 14 para 3 of the Law on Pre-trial Detention
5
Article 20 of the Law on Pre trial Detention
6
Article 26 of the Law on Imprisonment
7
See the reasoning presented by the General Director of Prison
Service in the hearing of Petition Committee of Chamber of
Deputies of the Czech Parliament on
8
See the Article 23 of the Criminal Code in accordance with
the Article 1 para 2 of the Imprisonment Law
9
Article 71 para 1of the Law on Imprisonment
10
Article 71 para 5 of the Law on Imprisonment
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