The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its most recent visit to Latvia, which took place from 3 to 8 December 2009. The main objective of the visit was to review progress made as regards the treatment and conditions of detention of prisoners, in the light of the recommendations made by the Committee after the 2007 visit to Latvia. To that end, the CPT’s delegation re-visited Jēkabpils Prison and the units for life-sentenced prisoners at Daugavgrīvas and Jelgava Prisons.

The delegation gained the impression that the situation concerning the treatment of prisoners by staff of Jēkabpils Prison had improved as compared with the 2007 visit. Nevertheless, some allegations of physical ill-treatment of prisoners by prison officers were received. Further, the level of inter-prisoner violence at Jēkabpils Prison remained a matter of serious concern; as was the case during the 2007 visit, the delegation heard numerous accounts of severe beatings, sexual assaults, threats and extortion by fellow inmates. Moreover, the visit revealed that there had been little improvement as regards conditions of detention in the prison; the vast majority of prisoners continued to be held under poor conditions. (more...)