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Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee visits Spain

[06.08.2003] - A delegation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) recently carried out an eleven-day visit to Spain. The visit began on 22 July 2003.

During the visit, the CPT's delegation focused on the fundamental safeguards offered to persons deprived of their liberty by law enforcement agencies and on the treatment of foreign nationals detained by the national police and the civil guard under aliens legislation. The delegation also reviewed the treatment of detainees placed in special units because they are considered to be "dangerous" or "unsuited to an ordinary prison regime", and examined the situation of detainees in penitentiary psychiatric hospitals.

The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:

• Silvia CASALE, President of the CPT and Head of the delegation (British)
• Roger BEAUVOIS (French)
• Marija DEFINIS GOJANOVIC (Croatian)
• Pétur HAUKSSON (Icelander)
• Veronica PIMENOFF (Finnish)
• Ole Vedel RASMUSSEN (Danish)

They were supported by Hanne JUNCHER and Cyrille ORIZET of the CPT's Secretariat and assisted by James McMANUS, Professor of the Department of Law, University of Dundee, United Kingdom.

During the visit, the CPT's delegation held fruitful discussions with Angel ACEBES PANIAGUA, Minister for the Interior, and with Ignacio ASTARLOA HUARTE-MENDICOA, Jaime Ignacio GONZALEZ GONZALEZ, and Maria Dolores de COSPEDAL GARCIA, respectively Secretary of State for Security, Government Representative for Foreigners and Immigration and under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, the delegation met senior officials from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, and representatives from the Office of the Public Prosecutor. The delegation also met Enrique MUGICA HERZOG, Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo).

The delegation visited the following places:

Law enforcement establishments 

National Police 

• Seville Police Headquarters 
• Alicante and Alicante North Police Stations 
• Algeciras, Jerez de la Frontera, and Sanlucar de Barrameda Police Stations (Cadix) 
• Playa de Las Americas (Adeje), La Laguna, Reina Sofia Airport and Santa Cruz South district Police Stations (Tenerife)

Civil Guard 

• Civil Guard Headquarters, Ceuta 
• Civil Guard Headquarters, Puerto Rosario, Fuerteventura 
• Civil Guard Headquarters, Santa Cruz, Tenerife 
• Civil Guard Headquarters, Torrevieja (Alicante)

Municipal police 

• Detention facilities, Algeciras and Sanlucar de Barrameda (Cadix) 
• Detention facilities, Lebrija (Seville)

Establishments for foreigners 

• National Police Detention Centre for Foreigners, Algeciras 
• National Police Holding Facility for Foreigners, Las Eras, Algeciras 
• National Police Detention Centre for Foreigners "El Matorral", Fuerteventura 
• National Police Detention Centre for Foreigners, Fuerteventura airport 
• Civil Guard Holding Facility for Foreigners "Isla de las Palomas", Tarifa

Prisons

• Tenerife II Prison 
• Villabona Prison, Asturias 
• Penitentiary Psychiatric Hospital, Alicante 
• Penitentiary Psychiatric Hospital, Seville

Detention facilities for Children

• San Antonio Centre for Children, Ceuta 
• Llanos Pelados Immediate Admission Centre for foreign minors, Fuerteventura 
• Casillas del Angel Children's Home, Fuerteventura 
• Nivaria Detention Centre for delinquent minors, Tenerife