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STRASBOURG, 13.01.00 – The United Kingdom Government has requested the publication of the report of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) on its visit to the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man from 8 to 17 September 1997. The response submitted to the Committee by the United Kingdom authorities in October 1998 is being updated to reflect recent developments and will be published shortly.
Under Article 11 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the information gathered by the Committee in relation to a visit, its report and its consultations with the State concerned are confidential. However, the State may decide to lift the rule of confidentiality provided for in the Convention.
Matters examined during the visit to the United Kingdom included the efficacity of legal remedies in cases involving allegations of ill-treatment by police officers. The visit also afforded an opportunity to review the measures being taken by the United Kingdom authorities to tackle the problem of overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales.
During the CPT's first visit to the Isle of Man, the delegation focused its attention on the Crown Dependency's only prison. It also took the opportunity to examine the treatment of persons detained by the Isle of Man Police.
The delegation visited the following places of detention:
Police establishments
(London)
(Isle of Man)
Prisons
(England)
(Isle of Man)
Isle of Man Prison, Douglas.
The members of the CPT's delegation were:
The delegation was assisted by Odile DIAMANT-BERGER (Head of the Forensic Medical Emergency Service at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Paris) (expert) as well as by two members of the CPT's Secretariat, Trevor STEVENS (Secretary of the CPT) and Mark KELLY.
The CPT was set up under the 1987 European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 40 of the 41 member States of the Council of Europe are bound by the Convention: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
The CPT is composed of persons from a variety of backgrounds: lawyers, medical doctors, prison experts, persons with parliamentary experience, etc.
The Committee's task is to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. For this purpose, it is entitled to visit any place where such persons are held by a public authority. The Committee may formulate recommendations to strengthen, if necessary, their protection against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The CPT's report on its visit to the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man (79 pages) may be obtained from:
the CPT’s Internet Site: www.cpt.coe.int
the Council of Europe Press Department:
Sabine ZIMMER, tel. +33/(0)3.88.41.25.97; fax +33/(0)3.88.41.27.90; E-mail pressunit@coe.int
Cathie BURTON, tel. +33/(0)3.88.41.28.93; fax +33/(0)3.88.41.27.90; E-mail pressunit@coe.int
the CPT’s Secretariat:
tel. +33/(0)3.88.41.23.88; fax : +33/(0)3.88.41.27.72; E-mail cptdoc@coe.int
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