NPM Annual Report 2013

SPANISH OMBUDSMAN Annual Report 2014 Spain´s National Preventive Mechanism against Torture Madrid, 2015 The following annexes are attached to this report, in electronic format: I Visits made in 2014. II Short-term deprivation of liberty in 2014. III Deprivation of liberty for infringements of Organic Act 4/2000, of 11 January, on rights and liberties of foreign nationals in Spain and their social integration in 2014. IV Deprivation of liberty in penitentiary centres in 2014. V Deprivation of liberty in penitentiary psychiatric hospitals and units in 2014. VI Deprivation of liberty in centres for juvenile offenders in 2014. VII Operations for the repatriation of foreign nationals in 2014. VIII Conclusions of the visits made in 2014, and follow up of the conclusions of the visits made in previous years. IX List of technical experts who participated in the visits of the NPM 2011-2014. Both the report and its annexes may be consulted at <www.defensordelpueblo.es> The total or partial reproduction of the contents of this publication is authorised, as long as the source is cited. It may not, under any circumstances, be reproduced for profitable purposes. Ejemplar realizado por el Defensor del Pueblo © Defensor del Pueblo Pº Eduardo Dato, 31 - 28010 Madrid www.defensordelpueblo.es Table of contents Presentation.................................................................................................................... 5 Acronyms and abbreviations used.................................................................................. 7 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 9 I. Visits made ............................................................................................................. 15 I.1 Short-term deprivation of liberty.................................................................. 19 I.2 Mean-term deprivation of liberty.................................................................. 20 I.2.1 Centres for internment of foreign nationals .................................. 20 I.2.2 Military disciplinary establishments .............................................. 23 I.3 Long-term deprivation of liberty................................................................... 24 I.3.1 Prisons answerable to the Office of the Secretary General for Penitentiary Institutions (SGIP) and the Department of Justice the Government of Catalonia ....................................................... 24 I.3.2 Penitentiary psychiatric hospitals and units.................................. 27 I.3.3 Centres for juvenile offenders ...................................................... 28 I.3.4 Centres for minors with conduct disorders and in a situation of social difficulty .............................................................................. 32 I.3.5 Residential establishments providing healthcare, social and/or rehabilitation services................................................................... 33 I.4 Special purpose places of deprivation of liberty.......................................... 33 I.4.1 Foreign national repatriation operations....................................... 33 I.4.2 Centres for first aid and detention of foreign nationals................. 34 II. Observations of the NPM on the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment........ 35 III. Minimum criteria in deprivation of liberty ................................................................ 47 III.1 Criteria to be met at facilities for short-term deprivation of liberty............... 49 III.2 Criteria to be met at facilities for mean-term deprivation of liberty.............. 58 III.2.1 Centres for internment of foreign nationals .................................. 58 III.2.2 Military disciplinary establishments .............................................. 66 III.3 Criteria to be met in facilities for long-term deprivation of liberty ................ 68 III.3.1 Penitentiary centres...................................................................... 68 III.3.2 Penitentiary psychiatric hospitals and units.................................. 85 III.3.3 Centres for juvenile offenders ...................................................... 90 III.3.4 Centres for minors with conduct disorders and in a situation of social difficulty .............................................................................. 98 3 III.3.5 Residential establishments providing healthcare, social and or/rehabilitation services............................................................. 104 III.4 Special-purpose places of deprivation of liberty........................................ 113 III.4.1 Foreign national repatriation operations..................................... 113 III.4.2 Centres of first aid and detention of foreign nationals ................ 116 III.4.3 Rooms for foreign nationals refused entry and seeking asylum. 119 IV. Institutional training and dissemination activities .................................................. 123 V. Processing of complaints for ill-treatment by the Ombudsman............................. 127 VI. Recommendations................................................................................................ 133 VI.1 Reform of the Criminal Procedure Act ...................................................... 135 VI.2 Centres for internment of foreign nationals............................................... 136 VI.3 Penitentiary centres.................................................................................. 139 VI.4 Report on injury reports on people deprived of their liberty ...................... 143 VI.5 Special-purpose places of deprivation of liberty........................................ 148 4 Presentation The Spanish Parliament, through Organic Act 1/2009, of 3 November, agreed to entrust the Ombudsman’s Office with the functions of National Preventative Mechanism against Torture, pursuant to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (NPM) of the United Nations. The assignment of these powers implies, firstly, trust in the institution to perform these functions and, also, a great responsibility to be discharged with the utmost professionalism, reporting annually to the Spanish Parliament and to the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture of the United Nations (SPT). To perform these functions, all kinds of centres for deprivation of liberty are visited, including those of the National Police Corps, the police of the autonomous governments, local police and the Civil Guards. Penitentiary centres, centres for the protection of minors, hospitals with custody units, centres of border controls and centres for the internment of foreign nationals, with participation in repatriation flights. The regular visits made to the centres have the purpose of detecting eventual deficiencies, suggesting improvements or evaluating correct actions and conveying the results and making the appropriate recommendations to the responsible authorities. The technical experts of the institution are accompanied by specialists of various professional centres to fully appreciate the aspects that should be assessed, such as infrastructures, healthcare, psychological counselling, legal assistance, visits regime, communications, surveillance methods and, accordingly, absolute respect to human rights. The duration of the visits is several days in order to observe all the facilities and hold interviews with the inmates and also with the personnel of the centres. In addition, an Advisory Council exists formed by persons proposed by the professional associations, whose members also participate in the visits, preparing reports and observations to be taken into account. Three centres for the internment of foreign nationals were visited in London, Paris and Rotterdam, to compare their operating procedures and make recommendations of the good practices observed. After five years discharging the entrusted functions, a set of criteria and rules exists to be used as guidelines to carry out the assessments contained in this report, which ends with the recommendations made. The Annexes, in electronic format, render full account of all the visits made. 5 The Ombudsman’s Office considers these functions entrusted to it to be of the maximum relevance and discharges them with the utmost objectiveness and professionalism. In addition, the Defensor del Pueblo (Ombudsman) in person often accompanies the technical experts, to observe the centres personally and hear the persons staying or providing their services at them. The Ombudsman’s Office definitely intends to comply with the mandate entrusted to it by the Spanish Parliament which, accordingly, cannot be delegated since is the sole authority in its capacity as National Preventive Mechanism against Torture to prevent inhuman treatment or treatment failing to conform to the law, in the entire national territory, in matters of human rights. Madrid, May 2015 Soledad Becerril DEFENSORA DEL PUEBLO [SPANISH OMBUDSMAN] 6 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED AENA Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea AOM Association of Ombudsmen of the Mediterranean APDH Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de España (Pro-Human Rights Association of Spain) AUGC Asociación Unificada de Guardias Civiles (Unified Association of the Civil Guard) CA Comunidad Autónoma (Autonomous Community) CAT Committee against Torture CCAA Comunidades autónomas (Autonomous Communities) CE Constitución

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