COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE OFFERS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON REPORT OF ESTONIA

CAT
29th session
21 November 2002




The Committee against Torture issued conclusions and recommendations this afternoon on an initial report of Estonia, citing among positive developments in the country the creation of a Legal Chancellor who also acted in the capacity of an Ombudsman, and abolition of the death penalty in 1998.
Among positive aspects, the Committee also noted the entry into force, on 1 December 2000, of an Imprisonment Act based on the “European Prison Rules”, as well as the jurisdiction given to the Legal Chancellor and members of the Health Protection Office to visit freely all rooms in detention houses.
The Committee recommended, among other things, that Estonia incorporate into its Penal code a defined crime of torture that fully and clearly responded to article 1 of the Convention; that it provide extensive training for judges and lawyers on the content of the Convention as well as its status in domestic law; and that it ensure that law enforcement, judicial, medical and other personnel involved in custody, detention, interrogation and treatment of detainees or psychiatrics patients were trained with regard to the prohibition of torture.
Estonia, as among 131 States parties to the Convention against Torture, is required to provide the Committee with periodic reports describing efforts to put the terms of the Convention into effect.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday, 21 November, to issue conclusions and recommendations on reports of Cyprus and Venezuela and then to conclude its autumn two-week session.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Initial Report of Estonia
The Committee cited among positive developments the country’s creation of a Legal Chancellor who also acted in the capacity of an Ombudsman; and abolition of the death penalty in 1998. The Committee also noted with approval the possible direct applicability of the definition of torture set up by article 1 of the Convention; the entry into force, on 1 September 2002, of the New Penal Code, which introduced torture as an offence and aimed at developing a flexible and individualized penal system, which increased the possibilities for re-socialization of prisoners by providing them with an opportunity to work or study; the improvement of prison conditions, through, in particular, the suppression of use of special punishment cells, the renovation of detention facilities and the opening of new Tartu prison, which conformed with recognized international standards. The Committee also welcomed the entry into force, on 1 December 2000, of a Imprisonment Act based on the “European Prison Rules”, as well as the jurisdiction given to the Legal Chancellor and members of the Health protection office to visit freely all rooms in detention houses. The Committee also noted among positive aspects the publication of reports of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture; the commitment of the State party to continue its practice of publishing the concluding observations of the United Nations treaty bodies, as well as the reports submitted by Estonia to such organs, through the Website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the ratification, on 30 January 2002, of the Statute of the International Criminal Court; and the assurance given by the State party that due consideration would be given to the possible ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
Concern was expressed, among other things, that the definition of torture, provided under article 122 of the Penal Code did not seem to fully comply with article 1 of the Convention; and that, although according to the delegation article 122 of the Code protected physical as well as mental health, that such a formulation could lead to restrictive interpretations as well as confusion. The Committee expressed concern about isolated cases of ill-treatment of detainees by officials that still occurred in police establishments; about detention conditions in old police arrest houses; and about the fact that illegal migrants and rejected asylum-seekers could be detained in expulsion centres until expulsion and be subjected to long periods of detention when expulsion was not enforceable. The Committee also expressed concern that persons of Russian nationality as well as stateless persons, two overlapping categories, were over-represented in the population of convicted persons; as well as that no specific body seemed to be in charge of collecting data in detention facilities, whether police arrest houses, prisons or psychiatric facilities.
The Committee recommended, among other things, that Estonia incorporate into the Penal code a defined crime of torture that fully and clearly responded to article 1 of the Convention, and provided extensive training for judges and lawyers on the content of the Convention as well as its status in domestic law; that it ensure law enforcement, judicial, medical and other personnel involved in custody, detention, interrogation and treatment of detainees of psychiatrics patients were trained with regard to the prohibition of torture and that their re-attestation included both verification of awareness of the Convention’s requirements and a review of their records in treating those detainees or patients. The Committee recommended that training should include developing the skills needed to recognize the sequelae of torture. The Committee also recommended that Estonia ensure close monitoring of inter-prisoner and inter-patient violence, including sexual violence, with a view to their prevention; that it continue the renovation of all detention facilities; that it strengthen the safeguards provided in the Code of criminal procedure against ill-treatment and torture; and that it ensure that persons in police custody and preventive detention had the right of access to a medical doctor of their choice, the right to notify a person of their choice and access to a legal counsel.
The Committee further recommended that Estonia elaborate a code of conduct for police officers, investigators and all other personnel involved in police custody of persons; that it introduce legally enforceable time limits for the detention of illegal migrants and rejected asylum-seekers who were under expulsion orders; that it fully examine and report on the reasons for the over-representation of persons of Russian nationality as well as stateless persons in the population of convicted persons; and that it consider ratifying the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.



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