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Prisons - new material (53)

01 March 2003

Report to the Government of the United Kingdom on the visit to the United Kingdom carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 17 to 21 February 2002 and Response of the Government of the United Kingdom to the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 17 to 21 February 2002. CPT 12.2.03. Examines the treatment of eight prisoners held under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, since the UK's derogation from Article 5(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Recommendations include "reminders" to Belmarsh prison officers that "force should only be used as a last resort" and that "forms of ill-treatment, including verbal abuse, are not acceptable." Noting that the UK authorities have failed to provide prisoners' with access to a lawyer from the outset of detention, the CPT "recommends that steps be taken to ensure that...the right of access to a lawyer is guaranteed as from the very outset of custody". The Committee is also critical of the conditions of detention, recommending "that all prisoners are guaranteed the basic requirement of at least one hour of outdoor exercise every day." On health care the report notes "particular concern" on the "provision of psychological support and/or psychiatric treatment."