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Visit by the CPT to the Kingdom of the Netherlands

[04.03.02] - A delegation of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) of the Council of Europe carried out a visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 17 to 26 February 2002. The places of deprivation of liberty visited included establishments in the Kingdom in Europe as well as in the Netherlands Antilles. This was the CPT's third periodic visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Kingdom in Europe

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

-     John OLDEN (Head of the Delegation) (Irish)
-     Ioanna BABASSIKA (Greek)
-     Andres LEHTMETS (Estonian).

They were assisted by James MacKeith, Forensic Psychiatrist, United Kingdom, as well as by Bojana Urumova of the CPT's Secretariat.

In the course of the visit, the delegation met A.H. Korthals, Minister of Justice, Frank Majoor, Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, P.F.M. JÄGERS, Director General of the National Agency of Correctional Institutions, R. VERBOOM, Brigadier-General at the Royal Maréchaussée, Rein PETERS, Chief Advocate General in Den Bosch, as well as numerous senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, the Interior, Health and Defence. The delegation also held talks with Professor Fernhout, the Ombudsman.

The CPT's delegation examined the measures taken by the Dutch authorities in response to the recommendations made by the Committee following its visits in 1992 and 1997, in particular those concerning the "Extra security institution" (EBI) in Vught. It also visited for the first time two establishments for the care of elderly persons in Amsterdam. Other questions of current importance were examined, such as the treatment of persons suspected of carrying drugs in corpore (body-packers).

The delegation visited the following places:

Law enforcement establishments

Detention facilities of Amsterdam Police Headquarters
Various facilities of the Royal Maréchaussée (KMAR) at Schiphol International Airport (Terminal 3, Triport, Elzenhof)

Establishments under the authority of the Ministry of Justice

Extra Security Institution (EBI), Nieuw Vosseveld Prison, Vught
Detention facility for persons suspected of carrying drugs in corpore, Bloemendaal
Asylum Application Centre, Schiphol International Airport

R.K. Sint Jacob Care Centre, Amsterdam
Wittenberg Nursing Home, Amsterdam

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

    -     Petros Michaelides (Head of the Group) (Cypriot)
    -     Ole Vedel Rasmussen (Danish)
    -     Rudolf Schmuck (German).

They were assisted by James McManus, former Scottish Prisons Ombudsman, and Fabrice Kellens, Head of Unit at the CPT's Secretariat.

In the course of this visit, the delegation met Miguel Pourrier, Prime Minister, Rutsel Martha, Minister of Justice, Marcel Gumbs, Secretary of State for Justice, Alvin Daal, Director at the Department of Justice, and Ben Swagermans, Acting Prosecutor-General.

The delegation examined the measures taken by the authorities of the Netherlands Antilles in response to the recommendations made by the Committee following its visits in 1994, 1997 and 1999, in particular those concerning Bon Futuro Prison (formerly known as Koraal Specht). It also visited for the first time Pointe Blanche Prison and Philipsburg Central Police Station.