The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), in two reports published today on its visits to Spain in 2011 and 2012, calls on the Spanish authorities to effectively investigate allegations of ill-treatment, to address prison overcrowding, and to improve the conditions of administrative detention of irregular migrants.
During its 2011 periodic visit, the CPT examined the treatment of persons detained by law enforcement agencies. The report highlights several allegations of serious physical ill-treatment by officers of the Guardia Civil in respect of persons held in incommunicado detention, and it recommends once again that the safeguards surrounding such detention are effective in practice.
The report also refers to several allegations of ill-treatment by the Catalan police (Mossos D'Esquadra), and makes recommendations aimed at strengthening the safeguards in place and ensuring that all investigations into allegations of ill-treatment by the police are prompt and thorough. Further, the report recommends that all Mossos d'Esquadra officers always wear some form of identification, including during public order operations.
The increasing problem of overcrowding in prisons, and its negative impact on the conditions of detention, are highlighted in the report. (more...)
