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Thursday 24 June 2021

New Factsheet on Conditions of Detention under the ECHR

The Council of Europe
Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights has issued a new thematic factsheet on the execution of the Court judgments concerning conditions of detention and prohibition of torture.
 
Here is a brief summary of the report:

"Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights enjoins States to ensure that detainees be held in conditions which are compatible with respect for their human dignity, that the manner and method of the execution of the measure do not subject them to distress or hardship of an intensity exceeding the unavoidable level of suffering inherent in detention and that, given the practical demands of imprisonment, detainees’ health and well-being are adequately secured. Also, according to the basic principlesof the European Prison Rules, persons deprived of their liberty retain all rights that are not lawfully taken away by the decision sentencing them or remanding in custody. Moreover, prison conditions that infringe prisoners’ human rights are not justifiedby lack of resources, while all detention should be managed so as to facilitate the reintegration into free society of persons deprived of their liberty.1The present factsheet sets out examples of measures adopted and reported by States in the context of the execution of the European Court’s judgments with a view to preventing and eradicating torture and other forms of ill-treatment of detainees in accordance with Article 3 of the European Convention. It focuses on the following issues: material conditions of detention; detainees’ physical and mental healthcare, psycho-social support and preparation for social reintegration; detention on remand and in police detention facilities; protection and prevention of detainees’ ill-treatment by prison staff and inmates; national inspection, monitoring and complaint systems effective remedies." 
 
The Department for the Execution of ECHR Judgments has previously issued other important thematic and country factsheets, which can be accessed here.