COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONTINUES REVIEW OF REPORT OF SPAIN

CAT
29th session
13 November 2002
Afternoon



The Committee against Torture continued review this afternoon of a fourth periodic report of Spain, hearing assertions by a Government delegation that Spain was complying with its obligations under the Convention against Torture and making progress in its efforts to offer protection against such maltreatment, despite the difficulties the country was facing from terrorism.
Fernando Manzanedo Gonzalez, Technical Secretary-General of the Ministry of Interior, and head of the delegation, responding to questions put by Committee members on Tuesday, said incommunicado detention was only applied to suspected members of terrorist groups in order to carry out effective investigations, and its imposition was limited by very specific parameters.
The delegation insisted that allegations of torture committed by police officers were false and had been made by members of terrorist groups who were given instructions to complain and to denounce the police each time they were arrested. Terrorist groups tried through these complaints to discredit Spain and the Basque police forces, the delegation said.
The Committee's formal conclusions and recommendations on the report of Spain will be issued at 3 p.m. Tuesday, 19 November.
Spain, as one of the 131 States parties to the Convention against Torture, is required to submit periodic reports on efforts to put the Convention’s provisions into effect.
The Committee will reconvene at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, 14 November, to begin review of an initial report of Estonia.

Discussion
FERNANDO MANZANEDO GONZALEZ, Technical Secretary-General of the Ministry of Interior and head of the Spanish delegation, giving replies to questions asked by the Committee upon presentation of Spain’s report on Tuesday, said among other things that statistics about the situation in prisons, the number of foreigners living in Spain and the number of asylum seekers were in the process of being obtained. They would be distributed to the Committee as soon as the results were known.
Regarding the question of solitary confinement, the delegation said that efforts in the Basque region by some persons seeking independence were not the cause of detention or solitary confinement. Incommunicado detention was only applied to terrorist groups in order to carry out investigations properly and efficiently. Such detention was applied for very specific reasons. When a terrorist was arrested, a press release was immediately issued, he added. The fact that a detainee in solitary confinement could not see his own lawyer but one designated by the State was because his own lawyer could also be a member of a terrorist group.
The delegation insisted that allegations of torture committed by police officers were false and made by members of terrorist groups who were given instruction to complain and denounce the police each time their were arrested. Terrorist groups tried through these complaints to discredit Spain and the Basque Police forces, the delegation said.
Concerning impunity, a member of the delegation said pardons had been granted to a group within the security forces convicted of violence, members of which had been given very light prison sanctions that did not exceed three months. These acts concerned had been committed prior to the ratification of the Convention against Torture and only concerned persons who were not more than secretaries who passively participated in actions involving security forces. The grant of pardon was selective and not widespread, and was effective as long as the person concerned was not involved in another crime. The delegation said the number of pardons was not comparable with the number of criminal proceedings involving Police Officers for offences against human rights. In this regard, he gave statistics and said that during the year 2000, 18 public employees had been convicted for such offences, 39 in 2001 and 17 in 2002. In addition, 10 public employees had been subject to disciplinary procedures in 2000, 9 in 2001 and 8 in 2002. The delegation said there was no policy for granting pardons, and such a process was not automatic.
On the matter of extensive delays for the consideration of complaints of torture, the delegation said such delays were not the general rule but only occurred exceptionally. Spain was conscious that the administration of justice had to be more flexible and quick. The possibility of appeal to a second instance and to the Spanish Constitutional Court was one of the reasons for these delays.
The crime of torture was a public offence and therefore the public prosecutor had the obligation to investigate cases and bring charges, whether there was a complaint from on the part of the victim or not, the delegation said.
Foreigners received the same guaranties and rights as the Spanish citizens, the delegation said. This included right to health care, social assistance and education. Moreover, any foreigner who claimed to be a victim of racism or xenophobia had the right and the possibility to complain. Expulsion was only carried out if an offence had been perpetrated, and in that case all standard guaranties were respected, such as the rights to an interpreter and to legal assistance. The relevant consulate authorities were informed as well as family members. An asylum seeker could never suffer expulsion, and a pregnant immigrant could not be expelled when it was felt that would constitute a risk to the health of the mother or child.
The delegation also outlined the situation of foreigners in the Canary Islands, saying considerable efforts were being made to cope humanely with people who entered illegally on Spanish territory.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was fully applied in Spain, including in the case of unaccompanied minors who arrived on Spanish territory, the delegation said. Expulsion of such children was not allowed.
The delegation said there were 52,000 inmates in the Spanish prisons; 23 per cent were in preventive detention and 77 per cent had been convicted of crimes. He also informed the Committee that the average age of prisoners was 34; a prisoner had to be at least 18 years old; 6,7 per cent of the prison population was between 18 and 20 years old. A database called “FIES” had been created and classified prisoners according to the offence committed.
Spain adopted in 1995 a law governing compensation for victims of torture or maltreatment that obliged the State to pay compensation if the guilty party was not able to do so. Compensation was re-evaluated in case of death, and the amount could be between 55,000 and 58,000 Euros, the delegation said.
The delegation said allegations of racism on the part of police officers were unfounded; often these complaints came as a result of a police request to see identity documents -- such requests often were considered racial prejudice by persons of colour, but the rule was the same for everyone. Indeed, every person on Spanish territory, Spanish citizen or not, could be asked to provide identity documents.



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