Spain should take measures to address numerous allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners by custodial staff in three Andalusian prisons, according to the Council of Europe's anti-torture committee.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has today published a report following its visit to a number of prisons, police stations and a juvenile detention centre in 2025.
Combating the ill-treatment of detained persons must be a priority
During the visit the CPT received a number of allegations of physical ill-treatment, including excessive use of force of detained persons by police officers at the time of arrest or during transfer to a police station, which were corroborated by medical evidence. The Committee reiterates its recommendation to the Ministry of the Interior to emphasise its position of zero tolerance of police ill-treatment and to provide training activities on verbal de-escalation and manual control techniques in the context of the apprehension of criminal suspects. The CPT also urges the Spanish authorities to remedy the persistent structural deficiencies and poor conditions of detention in police detention facilities, including lack of access to natural light, poor ventilation, and the absence of call-bells and suitable outdoor areas.
With regard to the situation in prisons, the CPT acknowledges a marked decrease in the number of reported allegations of physical ill-treatment of prisoners by staff at Madrid VII and Sevilla II Prisons since its previous visits. However, the situation remained concerning at the three Andalusian prison establishments of Algeciras, Huelva and Puerto III, where many prisoners alleged that they had been slapped, punched, kicked, and hit with truncheons by custodial staff in specific areas of the establishments not covered by CCTV cameras. The authorities must enhance their efforts to eradicate ill-treatment in prisons, notably through the dissemination to prison staff of a message of zero-tolerance of such practices; targeted training activities on de-escalation techniques; improving the quality of prisoners' medical examinations and their subsequent injury reports; the conduct of truly effective and independent investigations into the allegations of ill-treatment; and more impartial oversight by the judicial authorities when examining such episodes.
The conditions of detention offered to prisoners in closed-regime modules were satisfactory in terms of hygiene and furnishings, but the communal rooms and exercise yards were austere and only a very limited number of prisoners there were included in the targeted programme of activities offered within the closed-regime modules. The Committee is notably critical of the conditions akin to solitary confinement in which certain prisoners subjected to separation and segregation measures were serving their sentence, and of the inadequate psychological assistance provided to them.
Conversely, the Committee makes favourable observations regarding the material conditions offered to the majority of prisoners classified under the ordinary regime, and acknowledges the rich and varied range of targeted, diversified and individualised activities offered to persons in prison to support their reintegration. However, the situation of prisoners accommodated in so-called conflictual modules is less positive due to the neglect and dilapidation of communal spaces and the more impoverished regime on offer to them. The Spanish authorities should address this situation, including by recruiting additional treatment staff. The Committee welcomes the adoption of a gender perspective strategy in prisons by the Ministry of the Interior and encourages its progressive application, particularly with regard to providing more targeted vocational activities to women in prison.
As regards the resort to means of restraint vis-à-vis agitated prisoners, while the Committee takes positive note of the drastic reduction in the application of the measure of mechanical fixation to a bed with straps, it once again calls for the measure to be abolished in prisons. Further, the CPT is critical of the fact that strip searches of prisoners are frequently conducted in a disrespectful and overly intrusive manner.
Turning to the provision of healthcare in prisons, the report highlights the serious consequences of the acute penury of healthcare staff, especially prison doctors, and its detrimental effect on the quality of healthcare provided to prisoners as well as the consistent delays in meeting their requests for medical assistance. The Spanish authorities should proceed without further delay with the long-overdue transfer of the responsibility for prison healthcare to the relevant health authorities of the autonomous communities.
At the "Vicente Marcelo Nessi" Juvenile Detention Centre in Badajoz, the CPT describes a number of cases of deliberate physical ill-treatment, including the use of excessive force by private security staff against children. The Committee recommends enhancing the oversight of the selection and performance of such staff, as well as providing them with regular training on the effective use of verbal de-escalation and manual control techniques. Furthermore, the Committee found excessive use of means of restraint, including the tight handcuffing of young persons, and recommends the abolition of the measure of temporary isolation from the group as a disciplinary punishment for juveniles under the age of 18. The Committee proposes instead the application of alternative measures to calm agitated and violent juveniles. More generally, the report commends the dedication of the managerial and support staff and the diversified range of activities available to young persons held in the Centre.
Today's report has been published together with the response of the Spanish authorities.
Key observations and summary in English, French and Spanish.
Read the report in English.
Read the response in English, in Spanish.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visits places of detention in the states parties to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture to assess how persons deprived of their liberty are treated with a view to strengthening, if necessary, the protection of such persons from torture and from inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. These places include prisons, detention centres for children, police stations, immigration detention centres, psychiatric hospitals, and social care homes. After each visit, the CPT transmits a report containing its findings and recommendations to the government concerned.
