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Read, Debate: Engage.
| topic: | Human Rights |
|---|---|
| located: | Lithuania |
| editor: | Katarzyna Rybarczyk |
Several years ago, the UN-linked Committee against Torture revealed that Lithuanian prisons were guilty of infringing on the rights of prisoners by administering inhumane punishments. Since then, the state has allegedly been working on improving the situation, but a recent report from the Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) revealed that the problem persists.
The body visited three Lithuanian prisons to investigate whether the recommendations made after previous visits had been implemented. Unfortunately, the inspection raised concerns over serious violence between inmates and the ineffectiveness of the measures taken to address the roots of the issue.
As for inter-prisoner violence, beatings and sexual exploitation, as well as blackmailing, psychological pressure and coercion to commit new crimes were amongst its main forms. The guards are often aware of such behaviours, but they rarely intervene. “Dynamic security is still far from effective and, in most cases, exists only on paper,” explained CPT.
However, a lack of reaction by the prison authorities is synonymous with authorising ill-treatment of detainees and puts the inmates’ safety at risk. As explained by a UN resolution on Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, “all prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings.”
Further aggravating the situation is the fact that the guards not only turn a blind eye to abuses, but also resort to physical and psychological violence themselves. CPT stated that “in Alytus Prison, a homosexual prisoner complained about being called derogatory names and mocked by staff when he asked to be isolated due to a fear of sexual abuse by other inmates.” Having their demands ignored and being degraded by prison authorities can lead problems of anxiety or depression for inmates.
Amongst the main causes of inter-prisoner hostilities are poor living conditions. CPT’s report showed that “in all three prisons visited, in a number of dormitories there was less than 4 [metres squared of] personal living space per person, and in some, it was even less than the national minimum of 3.1 [metres squared].”
The minimum standard in multi-occupancy cells is 4 metres squared of living space per detainee. For single-occupancy cells, it is 6 metres squared. Respecting these guidelines is vital to reducing the number of incidents fuelled by frustration with overcrowding.
The report brings to light the need for improved measures to prevent inhumane treatment and effective rehabilitation in prisons. Better monitoring of staff–inmate relationships is necessary so that the authorities' behaviour does not become a driver of the problem.
Importantly, inmates must have easy access to counselling to learn how to cope with emotions without resorting to brutality. Only in this way can a prison sentence be an effective method of discipline and rehabilitation before reintroducing people into society.
Image by De an Sun
