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STRASBOURG, 11.02.99 - A delegation of the COUNCIL OF EUROPE Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has recently carried out a two week visit to Romania. The visit began on 24 January 1999 and was organised within the framework of the CPT's programme of periodic visits for 1999. It was the Committee's second visit to Romania(* ).
The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:
They were assisted by two experts - André LAUBSCHER (Director of the Department of Nursing at the University Hospitals, Geneva) and Jean SABATINI (Psychiatrist, Senior Lecturer in the Forensic Medical Laboratory "Laennec", Faculty of Medicine, Lyon) – as well as by Geneviève MAYER (Deputy Secretary of the CPT) and Dominique BERTRAND of the CPT's Secretariat.
At the beginning of the visit, the delegation met Mr Valeriu STOICA, Minister for Justice, Mr Alexandru CIOCÂLTEU, Secretary of State for Health, Mr Cristian TABACARU, Secretary of State for the Protection of Children, and Brigadier General Niculae NEAGU, First Deputy of the General Inspector of the Romanian Police, Ministry of the Interior. The delegation also met Mr Mircea CRISTE, General Prosecutor at the Supreme Court of Justice, and Brigadier General Dan Voinea, Chief Prosecutor of the Military Prosecution Section of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Further, in the course of the visit, the delegation held discussions with Mrs Rodica STANOIU, President of the Human Rights Commission of the Senate, and Mr Otto WEBER, Vice-President of the Commission for Human Rights, Religions and National Minorities Questions of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as with Mr Mircea MOLDOVAN, Deputy Ombudsman.
The delegation visited the following places:
Police establishments
Brasov
Bucharest
Craiova
Giurgiu
Slatina
Prisons
Psychiatric Hospitals
In addition, the delegation visited an establishment under the authority of the Bucharest City Council, namely "Ciresarii 1" Centre for the reception and allocation of minors.
In accordance with Article 11 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the information gathered by the CPT during its visit to Romania and its consultations with the Romanian authorities are confidential.
(*) The CPT's report on its first visit in 1995 and the reports of the Government of Romania in response were published on 19 February 1998.
The CPT was set up under the 1987 European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. All the 40 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, Lithuania (as from 1 March 1999), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the 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 organises periodic visits as well as any other visits which appear to it to be required in the circumstances.
Further information may be obtained from:
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