FACTSHEET
its associated problems. (…) Rather than
wait for the Subcommittee to come and
recommend the obvious —such as, that
the use of pretrial detention be used as the
last resort, and only for the most serious
offences or where there are serious risks
that can only be mitigated by the use of
pretrial detention—there is no reason why
States parties should not embark on such
strategies immediately, thus giving life to
their obligation to prevent torture. (SPT)17
”
What could monitoring bodies check?
• What is the proportion of pre-trial detainees
compared to convicted prisoners in the country?
• Is the duration of pre-trial detention included in
the calculation of a prison sentence handed down
subsequently?
• Is data available both on the percentage of acquittals
following pre-trial detention and on acquittals where
non-custodial alternatives were applied?
• Is compensation granted if pre-trial detention is found
to be illegitimate?
3.4. Risks during transfer to the detention
facility
Transport from the place of arrest to the police station,
from the initial place of detention to another facility, and
from detention to court, are also situations of particular
risk. Reports include ill-treatment in a (police) vehicle or
even being taken to a remote place and tortured there.
• Is the principle of last resort for pre-trial detention
enshrined in national legislation, and how is it applied
in practice?
• What non-custodial alternatives to pre-trial detention
are enshrined in criminal procedural laws?
• Do decisions indicate due consideration of necessity
and proportionality or are they schematic and based
on standard text modules?
• Are prosecutors/judges/magistrates required to
consider non-custodial measures as a priority?
• Is pre-trial detention mandatory for certain offences?
• For which offences is bail applicable, if at all?
• What are the formal requirements/procedures for
submitting a request for bail?
• How many requests for bail (percentage) are granted
compared to pre-trial detention orders imposed?
• Are denials of bail reasoned, on what grounds, and is
there a remedy available?
• Is pre-trial detention reviewed regularly, and
by whom? Are the principles of necessity and
proportionality reviewed thoroughly?
• How many judges are responsible for reviewing pretrial detention, what is their capacity, and how are
they trained?
• Is data available on the duration from arrest to
indictment, to the start of the trial and to the verdict?
• Is a maximum time limit for pre-trial detention
enshrined in law, and (how) is it enforced in practice?
• Is a remedy available to complain in case of an
infringement of the right to trial without delay? What are
the consequences if such a complaint is successful?
In April, police officers drove Bakary J
“
[a Gambian national], whose deportation
had been stopped, to an empty warehouse
in Vienna where he was handcuffed,
kicked, beaten and threatened with a mock
execution. The officers later took him to
a hospital and told staff that he had been
injured while attempting to escape, and
he was eventually returned to a detention
centre. Neither the police officers nor
medical staff at the hospital reported
the events, and criminal investigations
were not initiated until Bakary J’s wife
made a complaint. According to medical
documentation, Bakary J’s skull was
fractured in several places and he had
several bruises.
”
(Amnesty International, Annual Report on Austria 2007)
Conditions experienced by detainees during transport may
also give rise to concerns about inhumane or degrading
treatment. This might include crowded vehicles, inadequate
temperature and ventilation and lack of consideration for
hygiene. The UK inspection body, for instance, has reported
that during transports ‘only a few adult prisoners were
offered a “comfort break” to use a toilet. Instead prisoners
were offered a liquid absorbing gel-bag to use in their tiny
cell while the van was on the move’.18
There are few standards that prescribe safeguards to
prevent torture and ill-treatment during the transport of
detainees, and safeguards in place for police stations
17. UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), Fourth Annual Report, para. 52 on ‘Overcrowding and Pre-trial Detention’, 11 February 2011,
CAT/C/46/2. Available at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CAT%2FC%2F46%2F2&Lang=en
<accessed 17 November 2015>.
18. HM Inspectorate of Prisons, UK, A thematic review by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Transfers and escorts within the criminal justice system, December
2014, p5.
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Penal Reform International | Pre-trial detention: Addressing risk factors to prevent torture and ill-treatment