The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has called on European states with persistent prison overcrowding to address this problem with determination.
It suggestssetting a maximum threshold to the number of prisoners in every penal institution – to be strictly respected – and increasing the use of alternative measures to imprisonment.
A press release by the CPT says that in its annual report for 2021, the CPT underlines that although, over the years, some countries have achieved tangible progress in tackling prison overcrowding, this problem persists in many prisons systems, especially in establishments accommodating remand prisoners.
In addition, it says that even in countries where overcrowding is not a problem in the entire prison system, particular prisons, parts of prisons or cells may be overcrowded, it says.
In the report, the CPT welcomes the measures taken in many member states to conditionally or temporarily release low-risk prisoners and to reduce resort to pre-trial detention to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Committee, however, also notes that it has become apparent that some of the arguments put forward by authorities over the years that they were unable to decongest prisons were not always fully sincere.
Finally, the CPT warns that, with the end of the stricter measures to prevent Covid-19, the number of prisoners is increasing again in certain countries, which may result in a larger number of overcrowded prisons in the future.
Source: Cyprus News Agency