FACTSHEET
International standards require that anyone who is
arrested should be informed at the time of his arrest
of the reason for his apprehension and be promptly
informed of any charges against him.12 Being able to
inform family or legal representatives constitutes another
important safeguard. The revised Standard Minimum
Rules state that every prisoner ‘has the right and shall be
given the ability and means to inform immediately his or
her family, or any other person designated as a contact
person, about his or her imprisonment’, and about his or
her transfer to another institution.13
What could monitoring bodies check?
• How is the court notified after the arrest?
• How is the moment of arrest defined in law and
interpreted in practice?
systems of appraisal for law enforcement officials may
act as an incentive for officers to use unlawful methods
of investigation if they focus only on the number of
crimes ‘solved’.
‘Another result of the malfunctioning of the administration
of justice system, which is detrimental to human rights,
is that it generates pressure on the police to “resolve
cases” by means other than careful and objective
investigations – this temptation increases further, when
the success of individual policemen and -women is
measured exclusively on the basis of the number of
cases they “resolve”. Contrary what many believe, in my
assessment, it is not so much “political” torture that is
problematic – it is the everyday extortions of confessions
from so- called “ordinary” criminal suspects.’ (UN Special
Rapporteur on Torture)15
• Is practice in conformity with the law?
Reviewing the criteria of appraisals, as well as improving
investigation techniques, has the potential to reduce the
incidence of abuse by reducing one of the underlying
motives which can prompt law enforcement officials to
resort to torture and ill-treatment in the first place.
• When and how are arrestees informed about the
What could monitoring bodies check?
• What is the time limit prescribed by law for the
suspect to be brought before a judge? What activates
this time limit?
nature and cause of the charges against them,
and of their right to silence? Do they have the right
and opportunity to inform their family or a legal
representative?
• How long can arrestees be held at a police station?
• What forensic methods are available to law
enforcement other than interrogation?
• Are law enforcement officials sufficiently trained in
investigation techniques?
• Can interrogations take place without the presence of
• What percentage of convictions is based on
• Is audio- or video recording in place in order
• What is the system of and criteria for appraisal for law
a legal counsel?
to monitor and prevent ill-treatment during
interrogations?14
• Does a medical examination take place regularly,
in particular upon arrival at a pre-detention facility
following arrest and interrogation at a police station or
facility?
• Does the law prescribe the quashing of evidence
obtained under torture or ill- treatment? How are
such allegations dealt with by courts in practice?
confessions?
enforcement? Does it only consider the number of
crimes handed to prosecution?
3.3. Excessive use and length of pre-trial
detention
Beside other human rights concerns, the excessive and
prolonged use of pre-trial detention in many countries
contributes to overcrowding, which in turn frequently
results in conditions of detention amounting to torture or
ill-treatment.16
3.2. Systemic factors in law enforcement
Lack of forensic methodology or training in crime
investigation techniques both increase the risk of law
enforcement officials resorting to torture and ill-treatment
in order to close an investigation with a confession.
At the same time, the investigating agencies/police are
often under considerable pressure to ‘deliver results’ and
The Subcommittee continues to be
“
bemused by the complacency which seems
to surround the routine use of pretrial
detention for prolonged periods and the
resulting chronic overcrowding, and all
12. Principle 10, Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment; Rule 119 (1) of the revised Standard
Minimum Rules.
13. Revised Standard Minimum Rules, Rule 68.
14. See PRI/APT, ‘Video recording in police custody’ Factsheet, in Detention Monitoring Tool, 2nd edition, 2015.
15. Statement by Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on Torture, at the 18th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 24
April 2009, Vienna. Available at: www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/un-human-rights-rapporteur-denounces-torture.html <accessed 30 September
2013>
16. See, for example, UN Subcomittee on Prevention of Torture, Eighth Annual Report, 26 March 2015, CAT/C/54/2, para. 77; or National Consultative
Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (CNCPPDH), Algeria, submission to UN Human Rights Council resolution 24/12
on ‘Human rights in the administration of justice, including juvenile justice’, 2014. (In French) www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RuleOfLaw/
Overincarceration/CNCPPDH_Algeria.pdf <accessed 3 December 2015>.
Penal Reform International | Pre-trial detention: Addressing risk factors to prevent torture and ill-treatment
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