The acting Ombudsman of Spain, Francisco Fernández Marugán, delivered today in the Congress of Deputies and in the Senate the Annual Report of 2017 that the Institution performs as the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (NPM).
In 2017 the NPM has inspected 107 places of deprivation of liberty spread over 30 provinces and the Autonomous City of Melilla. Of those visits, 1.769 conclusions have been issued that have resulted in 29 recommendations, 673 suggestions and seven reminders of legal duties (See how works the Ombudsman as NPM. Spanish version)
The report of the NPM for 2017 has several new features such as a chapter that analyzes the response of the public authorities to complaints of torture and bad-treatment, a section on international pronouncements in this area and a part in which they account for the first visit made by the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture of the United Nations to Spain. In addition, in each chapter in which a modality of deprivation of liberty is analyzed, a table is included in which, through a color code like the one used on traffic lights, each of the main issues that are object of interest for the NPM is valued.
Prison Facilities
In 2017, 16 prision facilities were visited, which resulted in 594 conclusions, from which emanated 13 recommendations and 220 suggestions.
The NPM has continued to call attention to the prison authorities on the need to give the utmost importance to the detection and prevention of possible cases of bad-treatment. Thus, it has recommended the creation of a central database in which information about the investigation procedures carried out in cases of mistreatment can be downloaded, and insists each center to have a record book of these cases. In this sense, it has also requested that the injury parts be completed in a more exhaustive manner and that a copy of them be always delivered to the affected internal people.
In June 2017, the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions (SGIP) approved a protocol for action against aggression. This document provides, among other issues, actions to identify the main cause of the assaults, as well as sanitary and legal measures to support the employee who has suffered an aggression. For the NPM, it would be equally desirable that this type of measures be adopted also for cases in which it is proven that the aggressions have been suffered by interns.
In relation to the application of coercive means, the importance of video surveillance systems in mechanical clamping cells allowing the recording of images and audio has been emphasized. None of the centers visited had systems that allowed the capture of images in these cells.
The Ombudsman published in 2017 a guide of good practices in mechanical restraints. It highlighted the need for a more specific regulation on the use of mechanical fasteners and included a de-escalation procedure focused on conflict prevention and management alternatives to avoid, as much as possible, the use of restraints.
Regarding health care, the Institution has reiterated its concern about the insufficient provision of health personnel in all the centers visited, which affects the quality and frequency of health care and prevents the presence of these professionals 24 hours a day.
The lack of personnel living in the penitentiary centers as a whole also limits the adequate application of the treatment programs and the offer of activities.
This year, the NPM has paid special attention to living conditions in closed and special regime units. The 940 men and the 66 women who are in the first degree are distributed in 41 centers dependent on the SGIP and 10 of their counterparts in Catalonia.
In the opinion of the NPM, the closed regime modules have inadequate facilities, with narrow structures and poorly lit common areas. In addition, the staff to take on their special needs is scarce. The Institution considers that the Administration must pay special attention to the situation of these units, ensuring that the necessary security measures are combined with due respect for the fundamental rights and dignity of the persons subject to this regime.
Young Offender Institutions
The eight inspections carried out at young offender Institutions (CIMI) have resulted in 221 conclusions that have generated a recommendation, 78 suggestions and four reminders of legal duties.
In these eight centers, 447 contentions were counted and 1,364 disciplinary files were opened. After one of these contentions, a minor in the CIMI City of Melilla vanished and had to be transferred to the hospital with a cardiorespiratory arrest, where he died days later.
The NPM has insisted on the need for a legal guidance service in these centers so that the internal people in them can count on assistance during their stay in these establishments. Although it could be observed that the communication to the court and the Prosecutor’s Office of the initiation of a disciplinary file is processed diligently, in most cases the minors do not have legal assistance.
It has also been detected that the rules are not complied with when making integral records. The NPM points out that a superficial search cannot be confused with an integral register in which there must be authorization from the director of the center and prior communication to the judge and the prosecutor, forecasts that in most cases are not being met. In addition, the need to improve coverage and video surveillance protocols has been emphasized, since the centers visited are very different.
In health, the NPM calls for improvements in psychiatric care. It has also requested that minors who have a therapeutic measure receive due treatment.
The Ombudsman is particularly concerned about the shortage of residential resources once the child is serving his sentence and leaving the center, as there are cases where they cannot return to the family home.
Establishments of a sanitary, social or rehabilitation nature
The NPM has visited two residential mental health centers and one mental health unit hospital in 2017. These inspections have resulted in 87 conclusions and 27 suggestions. Gathering data on how many people have a mental disorder and how many have been admitted to a mental health facility is, today, very complicated.
In the visits to the residential centers, there were cases of people admitted for more than 30 years, in some cases it reached 50, and whose stay was considered voluntary. The NPM has doubts about whether people in these conditions are in a position to consider the existence of any other alternative.
It has also called the attention of the NPM that the majority of disabled people who could be interviewed during their internment indicated that they did not know who was in charge of their legal guardianship and that they did not know how their assets were managed.
Regarding the application of containment measures, there is no common protocol for mental health centers and units, or even minimums. In the opinion of the NPM, this can cause arbitrariness and, above all, induce a certain lack of control in its application.
Foreign Detention facilities
In 2017 all the Foreign Detention facilities (CIE) were visited, except for Valencia, which remained closed for a large part of the year. These inspections concluded with 221 conclusions that include five recommendations, 69 suggestions and a reminder of legal duties.
A total of 8.814 people were interned in the CIE and the Archidona facilities and expulsion or return measures were carried out on 37.29% of them.
Of the people interned in the CIE, 7.559 had been arrested upon arrival on the coasts. For the NPM, this fact shows that these centers are being used as instruments to contain irregular entry along the coasts. In its opinion, they have become reception centers for people arriving on a boat. In this sense, the NPM remembers that the law designed them as establishments destined to guarantee the repatriation of the people interned in them.
In the CIE, 1.386 requests for international protection were presented, of which 398 were admitted for processing and 48 unaccompanied minors were identified as unaccompanied foreign minors.
In its inspections, the NPM continues to detect numerous shortcomings. In the health field, there is still no 24-hour medical presence, there is no psychological and psychiatric assistance and no analytical tests are performed at the time of admission to detect infectious and contagious diseases. For the Ombudsman, the provision of health in the CIE should correspond to the territorial health systems.
In most of the centers, the separation of inmates with criminal records from those who are interned for a mere irregular stay in Spain cannot be guaranteed. For the NPM, the CIEs have a design problem and the space they are equipped with prevents the application of a modular distribution system so that this separation can occur. However, in his opinion, it is not only a question of infrastructures but also it is necessary to implement a working model so that this separation occurs.
On the other hand, only the CIEs of Madrid and Barcelona have a legal guidance service. For the Ombudsman, it is essential to implement legal guidance services provided by the bar associations in all detention centers for foreigners.
In addition, a recommendation has been made so that in the bulletins received by people interned in the CIE, information on gender violence, trafficking in human beings, sexual violence and habeas corpus can be provided.
In the opinion of the NPM, it is necessary to urgently address a comprehensive reform of the system of internment in Spain. In his opinion, the current model is inefficient and contrary to the purpose that is legally attributed. The Institution considers that alternatives to internment should be studied, such as voluntary return, entry into sheltered residential facilities or electronic control through geolocalizing bracelets. The NPM also insists that the current legislation already provides alternative measures to the deprivation of liberty, such as periodic filing before authorities or establishment of domicile.
Another issue that concerns the Ombudsman is what happens to these people once they leave the CIE. In his opinion, we should follow the steps of other European countries so that people who have not been able to be repatriated have some kind of status that allows them to maintain their personal dignity and carry out some kind of legal activity that contributes to the country’s economy as well as their own.
Short-term duration
For the NPM, short-term deprivations are very important since they are practiced by a large number of bodies and police agents, they are carried out in very heterogeneous facilities and affect a large number of people.
In total, 60 visits have been made, including police stations and other places of custody of the National Police, Civil Guard, Ertzaintza, Mossos d’Esquadra, seven local police corps and three custody units in judicial offices; as well as places intended for the first reception and detention of people arriving from the coasts and a room for asylum seekers. These inspections have generated 640 conclusions that have led to nine recommendations, 278 suggestions and two reminders of legal duties.
In the majority of the units visited, gaps in the video surveillance systems, incomplete registry and custody books and, in some units, lack of personnel to carry out the custody tasks were observed. In addition, the NPM insisted on the need to eliminate elements such as horizontal bars or ceramic toilets that can be used to self-harm or assault officials.
Currently, it is not possible to know the exact number of arrests in Spain in a year but the NPM trusts that the “Abaco project” sheds light on this data. This project was launched in the first days of 2018, with more than 2.000 requests for information from municipalities that, due to their size, could have the local police’s support. They have already answered more than 70% and 91.25% have police officers support. The project will be expanded with the aim of obtaining the global map of places of deprivation of liberty that exist in Spain.
Centers and dependencies of first reception and detention of foreigners
During 2017, centers and offices for the first reception and detention of foreigners in Cartagena, Almería, Motril, Málaga, Algeciras and Tarifa were also visited. The Institution ensures that the deficiencies detected in the inspected facilities make them unfit for the reception of people rescued at sea.
The Ombudsman considers that the current mechanisms of reception and detention of migrants should be reviewed. Thus, it advocates the formulation of an intervention protocol that includes three elements: suitable infrastructures, specialized human resources and criteria for collaboration and coordination between administrations, international organizations and civil society.
Foreigner repatriation operations
In 2017, nine repatriation operations of foreign citizens were supervised. Of these, eight were carried out by air and another was carried out by sea. 72 conclusions and a suggestion were issued.
In total, the repatriation of 304 foreigners on flights and 40 Algerian citizens who were repatriated by sea were monitored.
The NPM has continued insisting on the importance that all the people who are to be repatriated be previously recognized by medical teams and have the document “fit to travel”. At present, people who come from the CIE do have it but those who are driven from the different police stations do not carry it unless they are subjected to previous medical treatment.
See the NPM Report 2017 (Spanish Version)
