CAT/C/CZE/CO/4-5
that new Criminal Code only establishes the crime of torture and other inhuman and cruel
treatment but does not define torture in terms of the Convention (art. 1).
The Committee recommends that the State party amend its Criminal Code in order to
adopt a definition of torture that covers all the elements contained in article 1 of the
Convention.
Rendition flights and diplomatic assurances
8.
The Committee is concerned that in its written materials the State party had invoked
the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention) as a reason for
not requesting to search civilian aircraft. The Committee notes that in the oral dialogue with
the State party, the State party clarified that it was not the intention that the Chicago
Convention would exclude or deter the application of the Convention against Torture. The
Committee is also concerned that the State party has accepted diplomatic assurances in
relation to extraditions of persons from its territory to States where those persons would be
in danger of being subjected to torture. It is also concerned that no information was
provided concerning the type of diplomatic assurances received or requested (arts. 3, 6 and
7).
The Committee recommends that the State party refuse to accept diplomatic
assurances in relation to extraditions of persons from its territory to States where
those persons would be in danger of being subjected to torture since those assurances
cannot be an instrument to modify a determination of a possible violation of article 3
of the Convention. It also requests the State party to provide the Committee with the
number and type of diplomatic assurances received since 2004 and the countries
involved.
Conditions of detention
9.
The Committee is concerned about the increase in overcrowding in detention
facilities which leads to increased inter-prisoner violence; about the use of pepper spray in
closed prison spaces; about the number of suicides in places of detention and the absence of
information about their causes; the presence of prison staff during the medical examination
of prisoners; examination of inmates by psychiatrists through security grates and about the
absence of information concerning alleged incommunicado detention (arts. 11 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party make greater use of alternative noncustodial measures in keeping with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for
Non-custodial Measures (Tokyo Rules) and reduce the number of incarcerations
resulting from the lack of implementation of alternative sentences which are then
converted to incarceration. It recommends that the State party revise the regulations
concerning the use of pepper spray in closed spaces. The Committee also recommends
that a study be undertaken into the causes of suicides in detention, that the Prison
Service enhance the monitoring and detection of detainees at risk and take preventive
measures with regard to the risk of suicide and inter-prisoner violence, including
installing cameras and increasing the number of prison staff. It also recommends that
the rules governing the medical examination of prisoners be amended to ensure that
the examination is private and independent; that inmates are not examined by
psychiatrists through security grates; and that health services for detainees be
transferred from the Prison Service under the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of
Health. The Committee wishes to receive information on the existence in the Czech
Republic of incommunicado detention, including laws and regulations governing
incommunicado detention, its duration, the number of persons held in
incommunicado detention and whether it is subjected to judicial oversight that
includes judicial review.
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