The main objective of the visit was to review the measures taken by the Polish authorities in response to the recommendations made by the Committee after previous visits. In this connection, particular attention was paid to the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in police custody, foreign nationals detained in Border Guard establishments, remand prisoners, and forensic psychiatric patients.
In the course of the visit, the delegation met with Dr. Hanna Machińska, Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights (Deputy Ombudsman) and representatives of the National Prevention Mechanism, as well as with non-governmental and International Organisations active in areas of concern to the CPT.
The delegation will send its preliminary observations to the Polish Government in writing since it was unable, despite requests reiterated several times, to present them to the Ministers of Internal Affairs and Administration, Justice and Health, or at least to political level senior officials of the aforementioned Ministries (namely Secretaries or Under-Secretaries of State).
The visit was carried out by the following CPT members:
- Hans Wolff, 1st Vice-President of the CPT (Head of delegation)
- Gergely Fliegauf
- Marie Lukasová
- Ömer Müslümanoğlu
- Solvita Olsena
- Jari Pirjola.
They were supported by Borys Wódz (Head of Division) and Dalia Žukauskienė of the Committee's Secretariat, and were assisted by an expert, Andres Lehtmets, Head of the Centre of Psychiatry, West Tallinn Central Hospital, Estonia.
The delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty:
Police establishments:
- Metropolitan Police Headquarters, Biała Podlaska
- Metropolitan Police Headquarters, Białystok
- Police establishment for children, Białystok
- District Police Headquarters, Bielsk Podlaski
- District Police Headquarters, Chojnice
- District Police Headquarters, Człuchów
- District Police Headquarters, Gostynin
- Metropolitan Police Headquarters, Grudziądz
- District Police Headquarters, Siemiatycze
- District Police Headquarters, Świecie
- Metropolitan Police Headquarters, Toruń
- Metropolitan Police Headquarters, ul. Nowolipie 2, Warsaw
- District Police Headquarters, Warsaw IV, ul. Żytnia 36, Warsaw
- District Police Headquarters, Warsaw V, ul. Żeromskiego 7, Warsaw
- District Police Headquarters, Warsaw VI, ul. Jagiellońska 51, Warsaw
Border Guard establishments:
- Guarded Centre for Foreigners in Biała Podlaska
- Guarded Centre for Foreigners in Białystok
- Guarded Centre for Foreigners in Wędrzyn
Prisons:
- Białystok Remand Prison
- Prison No. 1 in Grudziądz
Psychiatric establishments:
- National Centre for Prevention of Dissocial Behaviour in Gostynin and its branch in Czersk