The Institution has presented the sixth annual report of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) which made 62 visits to places of deprivation of liberty in 2015 and drafted 284 resolutions.
The NPM inspected centres all over the country. The main aim of the visits, which were not announced beforehand, was to detect any deficiencies that might contribute to torture or ill-treatment being committed, or hamper the investigation and punishment of acts of this kind.
The NPM also examines the treatment given to and conditions provided for people deprived of their liberty and checks whether their fundamental rights are guaranteed. To do so, it conducts individual and reserved interviews with the detainees and with the management and staff at the centres visited, and examines facilities, registers and documentation, the video surveillance system, etc.
The Office of the Ombudsman has acknowledged the collaborative attitude encountered in all the centres visited on the part of the staff providing the services.
Of the 284 resolutions drafted -58 recommendations, 224 suggestions and two reminders of legal duties – the Administration has accepted 236.
Recommendations accepted
In the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal) made by Organic Act 13/2015, of 5 October the following recommendations made by the NPM have been accepted and put into effect:
- To reduce the maximum period of 8 hours for the right of detainees to legal assistance to be effective.
- To provide detainees with more information about their rights.
- To inform detainees of their right to request habeas corpus.
- To prohibit the application of incommunicado detention to children under 16.
- Daily supervision by forensic medical experts of incommunicado detainees.
WEB SITE
The new web site of the Office of the Ombudsman, which was renewed in 2015, includes a specific section on Torture Prevention, where the annual reports, the month-by-month activity of the NPM, the resolutions submitted to the authorities and a geolocator map of all the visits made can be browsed.
Download the report here (esp)
