This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published a report on its visit to Poland in 2017 The document reveals many irregularities in the examined detention facilities psychiatric institutions and the National Centre for the Prevention of Dissocial Behaviours in Gostynin CPT delegation also met with lawyers of the HFHR “The conclusions of the Committee’s visitation coincide with the observations of non-governmental organizations including the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights” the CPT received many reports of abuse of force (or sometimes outright violence) on the part of police officers The CPT noted based on its findings that persons who are arrested or transferred to the police custody were exposed to a serious risk of being maltreated There is still no systemic solution that would protect detainees from such irregularities The CPT emphasised in particular that detainees’ access to a lawyer was illusory and found that detainees generally were not informed of their rights The CPT has also taken an interest in the case of Igor Stachowiak who died at a police station in Wrocław in 2016 the CPT recommended reiterating to all police officers instructions regarding the proper use of electric discharge weapons electric discharge weapons may only be used when there is a real and immediate threat to life or risk of serious injury; such weapons may not be used for the sole purpose of securing a detainee’s compliance with an order Recourse to such weapons should only be authorised when other less coercive methods have failed The Committee also requested the Polish authorities to provide it with a copy of Igor Stachowiak’s case file as well as information on disciplinary and criminal penalties imposed on the officers responsible for his safety In the report’s section devoted to guarded immigration centres cases of violence between detained foreign nationals the absence of pre-placement medical examinations and the practice of submitting the detainees to medical exams in the presence of Border Guard officers Another important problem is the fact that foreigners are often not informed about decisions concerning their detention and available legal remedies that may be taken to challenge such decisions The CPT also drew attention to the inadequacies in the functioning of prisons the Committee observed that the Polish standard of prison living space (3 sqm per an inmate) was too low newly admitted inmates do not have to undergo a comprehensive medical examination immediately after their arrival at the facility There is also a need for proper procedures for reporting and recording prisoners’ injuries The CPT also concluded that Poland applies extensively restrictive regulations regarding the contact privileges of persons detained on remand Discussing the young offender institutions cases of violence between inmates and the absence of proper medical examinations irregularities were uncovered in respect of the misuse of coercive measures Juvenile inmates’ contact privileges were considered inadequate the CPT pointed out to several deficiencies in the operation of psychiatric institutions including the alarmingly frequent use of coercive measures against juvenile patients the provisions of the Mental Health Protection Act do not fully meet international standards: for example there is no mechanism for a periodic judicial review of mental health committal orders or extensions of periods of involuntary hospitalisation The CPT also commented on the operations of the National Centre for the Prevention of Dissocial Behaviours in Gostynin noting the absence of a general concept of therapy at the establishment as well as overcrowding “We hope that the recommendations made by the Committee will contribute to improving standards of treatment of people deprived of their liberty Many of the suggested changes are in line with earlier proposals of non-governmental organisations and the Commissioner for Human Rights” To view the CPT report, use this link Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Wiejska 16 Street 00-490 Warsaw Tel: +48 22 556 44 40  (Monday to Friday from 10.00 PM to 2.00 PM) Fax: +48 22 556 44 50 e-mail: hfhr [at] hfhr.pl Privacy policy GDPR