The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has published a report on a visit to Portugal in 2024, noting a decreased prevalence of allegations of ill-treatment by law-enforcement officials compared to previous visits to the country and action taken by the Portuguese authorities to address this issue, although concerns remain.
During the visit, the CPT examined the treatment afforded to people deprived of their liberty by the Public Security Police, the National Republican Guard and the Judicial Police. It also looked into the effectiveness of disciplinary and criminal investigations into possible cases of ill-treatment by law-enforcement officials.
Zero tolerance of ill-treatment called for
The CPT delegation received a number of allegations of physical ill-treatment, including excessive use of force upon arrest. The alleged ill-treatment consisted primarily of slaps, punches, kicks to the body and/or head and, occasionally, the use of batons. The allegations also included being thrown against a wall, exerting pressure to the head with the foot, or to the neck with a knee or a baton, despite the arrested individuals having already been brought under control. A few instances of threats, verbal abuse and humiliating acts were also reported.
The report stresses that the Portuguese authorities should remain vigilant and pursue their efforts, in line with a policy of "zero tolerance", in order to completely root out police ill‑treatment. They should, in particular, improve the reporting of such cases both internally and to the relevant investigative bodies, and provide appropriate training to law-enforcement officials. They should also pursue strengthening the effective implementation of a number of safeguards, such as the display of visible means of individual identification by law-enforcement officials, including for those in special intervention units, the use of body-worn video cameras by officers, and the installation of CCTV systems in police stations and detention facilities.
Once again the CPT received again allegations of both excessively tight handcuffing upon arrest. Other practices that persisted were handcuffing detained individuals to fixed objects in police stations and transporting arrested individuals with their hands cuffed behind their backs. The CPT recommends that action be taken to end these practices.
Good practices, but more work to be done
The CPT highlights as an example of good practice an interagency protocol concluded in 2023 which brought about improvements with respect to the detection of possible cases of ill-treatment by law-enforcement officials arrival of detained individuals at prisons and to the reporting of such cases by prisons to the relevant disciplinary bodies. However, action is still required to improve the quality of the injury reports drawn up by prison nurses, to whom this responsibility has been delegated, and of the related documentation (body charts and photographs).
Regarding the conduct of related disciplinary investigations, the Inspectorate-General for Internal Administration responded promptly to reports of possible cases of ill-treatment received from prisons, and interviewed the detained individuals concerned by videoconference, in general within 48 hours.
As regards criminal investigations, flaws in the criminal-justice system's response to allegations or information indicative of ill-treatment by law-enforcement officials persist. These carry a risk of undermining public confidence in the Portuguese authorities' adherence to the rule of law.
Fuller and better communication of information
In this regard, the CPT continued to find omissions by prisons as well as by the Inspectorate-General for Internal Administration and the Inspectorate-General of Justice Services to report possible cases of ill-treatment by law-enforcement officials to the Public Prosecutor's Office, as well as cases in which allegations or information indicative of ill-treatment had not been acted upon, or insufficiently promptly, by this service. The CPT further highlights the need to improve the communication and information-sharing between criminal and disciplinary investigative bodies, especially in those cases where disciplinary and criminal proceedings run in parallel.
As regards fundamental safeguards against ill-treatment, the CPT found that, in general, the rights of notification of custody and of access to a doctor operate effectively. Nevertheless, concerns remain about the detained individuals' and their lawyers' ready access to relevant medical reports, and about the practice of some hospitals of distributing copies of such reports to the police without the patients' permission, in breach of medical confidentiality.
Regarding access to a lawyer, this right does not appear to be guaranteed to individuals placed in police custody in all cases from the very outset of the deprivation of liberty. In particular, the right of access to a lawyer remains dependent upon the person in police custody having been formally granted defendant status.
Steps the authorities are taking
In their response, the Portuguese authorities set out the steps taken or envisaged to implement several recommendations made by the CPT in the report. These include the provision of training by the national forensic-medical institution to prison healthcare staff and further practical measures aimed at enhancing the quality of the injury reports and related documentation. Other measures concern interagency consultations to clarify the powers of the Inspectorate-General for Internal Administration and the Inspectorate-General of Justice Services to request forensic-medical examinations in relevant cases, and the conclusion of an addendum to include the national forensic-medical institution as a party to the 2023 protocol; as well as measures to ensure that cases where injuries indicative of ill-treatment are detected upon admission to prisons are swiftly communicated to the prosecutorial authorities.
Lastly, the authorities have also provided information on the training offered to Public Security Police and National Republican Guard officers to comply with human-rights standards and on the initial training provided to Judicial Police inspectors on interview techniques.
The Council of Europe and Portugal
