The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of the Council of Europe published a report on Friday, 17 November – corresponding to the visit made by the Committee to Spain in 2016 – in which it underlines that Spanish penitentiary centres meet the material conditions required by the Council of Europe.
It also affirms that it has been observed that all the centres offer inmates, in modules under the ordinary regime, a wide variety of occupational activities that include remunerated work.
As regards health services at penitentiary centres, the report highlights that both the human and material resources available meet the requirements necessary to adequately attend to inmates. Furthermore, the Committee expressed its satisfaction at the measures adopted in recent years by the Spanish authorities to maintain and guarantee that inmates enjoy sufficient space at penitentiary centres.
The report by the Council of Europe also focused on the detention facilities of law enforcement agencies, and highlights that safeguards are respected, particularly guarantees of communication for those people deprived of liberty with their families, doctors and lawyers, as well as the possibility of maintaining private meetings with their attorney to prepare their defence.
The Committee also acknowledges that the amendments to legislation on the incommunicado detention regime are positive, and that no new legislation has been enacted to this end in the last two years.
As regards juvenile detention centres, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of the Council of Europe acknowledges in its report the work carried out by the personnel that work at these centres, based on the explicitly positive comments from inmates on the human quality of staff. Furthermore, the centres visited satisfy the official standards of the Committee from a material perspective.
As regards the activities carried out by juveniles under the standard regime, the Council of Europe makes express mention of the different activities carried out that keep young people busy for the majority of their time.
Lastly, the report describes the measures adopted as satisfactory to ensure that juveniles maintain their ties with their families through visits, correspondence and phone calls.
