CPT/Inf (2017) 13 Report to the German Government on the visit to Germany carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 25 November 2015 to 7 December 2015 The German Government has requested the publication of this report and of its response. The Government’s response is set out in document CPT/Inf (2017) 14. Strasbourg, 1 June 2017 2 CONTENTS Copy of the letter transmitting the CPT’s report............................................................................4 Executive summary ............................................................................................................................5 I. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................9 A. Dates of the visit and composition of the delegation ..............................................................9 B. Context of the visit and establishments visited.....................................................................10 C. Consultations held by the delegation and co-operation encountered.................................11 D. National Preventive Mechanism ............................................................................................14 II. FACTS FOUND DURING THE VISIT AND ACTION PROPOSED ..............................15 A. Police establishments ..............................................................................................................15 1. Preliminary remarks ........................................................................................................15 2. Ill-treatment .....................................................................................................................15 3. Safeguards .......................................................................................................................19 4. Conditions of detention ...................................................................................................23 5. Other issues......................................................................................................................24 B. Prison establishments .............................................................................................................25 1. Preliminary remarks ........................................................................................................25 2. Ill-treatment .....................................................................................................................26 3. Conditions of detention ...................................................................................................27 a. material conditions .................................................................................................27 b. regime.....................................................................................................................27 4. Situation of inmates subjected to prolonged solitary confinement..................................28 5. Health care.......................................................................................................................30 6. Other issues......................................................................................................................33 a. contact with the outside world ...............................................................................33 b. discipline ................................................................................................................35 c. security-related issues ............................................................................................38 d. house rules..............................................................................................................39 3 C. Psychiatric establishments .....................................................................................................40 1. Preliminary remarks ........................................................................................................40 2. Ill-treatment .....................................................................................................................42 3. Patients’ living conditions ...............................................................................................44 4. Staff .................................................................................................................................45 5. Treatment.........................................................................................................................46 6. Means of restraint ............................................................................................................49 7. Safeguards .......................................................................................................................52 a. initial placement and discharge..............................................................................52 b. safeguards during placement..................................................................................55 8. Other issues......................................................................................................................57 a. disciplinary measures .............................................................................................57 b. security-related issues ............................................................................................58 c. the use of surgical castration in the context of treatment of sex offenders ............60 APPENDIX: List of federal and Länder authorities, organisations and persons with whom the CPT's delegation held consultations ...........................................................61 4 Copy of the letter transmitting the CPT’s report Ms Almut Wittling-Vogel Ministerialdirigentin Representative of the Federal Government for Matters Relating to Human Rights Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection D – 11015 Berlin Strasbourg, 29 August 2016 Dear Ms Wittling-Vogel, In pursuance of Article 10, paragraph 1, of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, I enclose herewith the report to the German Government drawn up by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) following its visit to Germany from 25 November to 7 December 2015. The report was adopted by the CPT at its 90th meeting, held from 4 to 8 July 2016. The various recommendations, comments and requests for information formulated by the CPT are highlighted in bold in the body of the report. As regards more particularly the CPT’s recommendations, having regard to Article 10, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the Committee requests the German authorities to provide within six months a response giving a full account of action taken to implement them. The CPT trusts that it will also be possible for the German authorities to provide, in the above- mentioned response, reactions to the comments and requests for information formulated in this report. The Committee would ask, in the event of the response being forwarded in German, that it be accompanied by an English or French translation. I am at your entire disposal if you have any questions concerning either the CPT’s report or the future procedure. Yours sincerely, Mykola Gnatovskyy President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The main objective of the CPT’s 2015 visit to Germany was to review the measures taken by the relevant authorities to implement recommendations made by the Committee after its previous visits. To this end, the CPT’s delegation visited several police establishments, prisons and civil/forensic psychiatric hospitals in different Länder. The reception at the establishments visited was in many respects excellent, and all staff met by the delegation made genuine efforts to be helpful and co-operative. However, the work of the delegation was seriously hampered as a result of instructions issued by various Länder authorities shortly before the visit, which required the express consent of every individual prisoner or patient to give delegation members access to his/her individual administrative and medical files. The most serious problem was encountered at Uchtspringe Forensic Psychiatric Clinic (Saxony-Anhalt) where the delegation was even denied access to a list of the patients who were being held in the clinic on an involuntary basis. Since this matter could not be resolved, the delegation had no choice but to interrupt its visit to the clinic. The CPT urges all relevant federal and Länder authorities to take immediate action to ensure that visiting delegations henceforth have unrestricted access to the administrative and medical files of detained persons. Police establishments As during the 2010 visit, the delegation heard no allegations of deliberate physical ill-treatment of detained persons by police officers whilst in police custody, and most of the persons interviewed who were or had recently been in police custody indicated that they had been treated with respect by police officers. However, once again some allegations were received from detained persons – in particular foreign nationals and persons suffering from a mental disorder – that they had been subjected to excessive use of force by police officers at the time of apprehension (such as punches