–2–
when a prisoner who has been transferred back to police custody for investigative reasons is
returned to the prison; unfortunately, such transfers are still a common practice in some States
visited by the CPT, and they can entail a high risk of ill-treatment (see also paragraph 80).
Similarly, any prisoner who has been involved in a violent episode within prison should be
medically screened without delay.
In addition to prisons, there are other places of deprivation of liberty where persons may be
detained for a prolonged period (i.e. more than a few days). This is the case, for example, of
detention centres used to accommodate persons held under aliens legislation. Further, in a number
of countries visited by the CPT, various categories of detained persons (e.g. administrative
offenders; persons remanded in custody who are awaiting transfer to a prison or undergoing further
investigation) can be held for prolonged periods in “arrest houses” or “temporary detention
facilities”. Systematic medical screening of new arrivals should also be carried out in such places.
74.
The record drawn up after the medical screening referred to in paragraph 73 should contain:
i) an account of statements made by the person which are relevant to the medical examination
(including his/her description of his/her state of health and any allegations of ill-treatment), ii) a full
account of objective medical findings based on a thorough examination, and iii) the health-care
professional’s observations in the light of i) and ii), indicating the consistency between any
allegations made and the objective medical findings. The record should also contain the results of
additional examinations carried out, detailed conclusions of specialised consultations and a
description of treatment given for injuries and of any further procedures performed.
Recording of the medical examination in cases of traumatic injuries should be made on a
special form provided for this purpose, with body charts for marking traumatic injuries that will be
kept in the medical file of the prisoner. Further, it would be desirable for photographs to be taken of
the injuries, and the photographs should also be placed in the medical file. In addition, a special
trauma register should be kept in which all types of injury observed should be recorded.
75.
It is important to make a clear distinction between the above-mentioned medical screening
and the procedure followed when a detained person is handed over to the custody of a prison. The
latter procedure entails the drawing up of documentation, co-signed by the prison staff on duty and
the police escort as well as perhaps by the detained person. Any visible injuries observed on the
prisoner at the moment of handover of custody will usually be recorded in that documentation.
This procedure is of an administrative nature, even if – as is sometimes the case – it takes
place in the presence of a member of the prison’s health-care staff. It can in no event serve as a
substitute for the medical screening procedure already described. Moreover, given the presence of
the police escort as well as the anxiety often felt at the very moment of entering prison, prisoners
should not be questioned at this initial stage about the origin of any visible injuries observed on
them. Nevertheless, the record made of visible injuries observed should be immediately forwarded
to the prison’s health-care service.
76.
The CPT sets much store by the observance of medical confidentiality in prisons and other
places of deprivation of liberty. Consequently, in the same way as any other medical examination of
a detained person, the medical screening referred to in paragraph 73 must be conducted out of the
hearing and – unless the health-care professional concerned expressly requests otherwise in a given
case – out of the sight of non-medical staff. This requirement is at present far from being met in all
States visited by the CPT.
77.
However, the principle of confidentiality must not become an obstacle to the reporting of
medical evidence indicative of ill-treatment which health-care professionals gather in a given case.