Committee against Torture

List of issues prior to submission of the seventh periodic report of Portugal*

The Committee against Torture, at its thirty-eighth session (A/62/44, paras. 23 and 24), established an optional procedure which consists in the preparation and adoption of a list of issues to be transmitted to the State party concerned prior to the submission of its periodic report. The replies of the State party to this list of issues will constitute its report under article 19 of the Convention.

Specific i nformation on the implementation of articles 1 - 16 of the Convention, including with regard to the Committee’s previous recommendations

Articles 1 and 4

1.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (see CAT/C/PRT/CO/5-6, para. 7), please provide updated information on any progress made in amending article 243 of the Criminal Code with a view to explicitly including discrimination as one of the purposes for inflicting torture and bringing the definition of torture into full conformity with all the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention. Please also clarify whether the prosecution of perpetrators of acts of torture could be subjected to a statute of limitations.

Article 2

2.In the light of the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 8) and the information received from the State party on follow-up to the concluding observations, please provide updated information on:

(a)The legislative and other measures taken to ensure that all fundamental legal safeguards apply to anyone who is in police custody, from the very outset of his or her deprivation of liberty, including during the maximum six-hour period of detention for identification purposes. Please also clarify whether the time spent in custody for identification purposes is deducted from the 48-hour period of police custody within which a detained person must be brought before a judge;

(b)Any measures taken to guarantee, in practice, that all persons deprived of their liberty are informed of their rights from the outset of their detention. Please clarify whether persons detained by the Public Security Police (PSP) and the National Republican Guard (GNR) are required to sign a statement indicating that they have been informed of their rights in a language they understand and whether Regulation 8684/99 has been amended accordingly;

(c)Any measures taken to guarantee that all persons deprived of their liberty have access to an ex officio lawyer as from the moment of deprivation of liberty and during interviews with law enforcement officials and not only at the detention hearing before the judge;

(d)Measures taken to ensure the monitoring of compliance with the fundamental legal safeguards by all public officials, including record-keeping of all periods of detention and notification to a next of kin, and to guarantee that public officials who deny those safeguards to persons deprived of their liberty are disciplined or prosecuted. Please provide information on the number of complaints lodged and cases initiated for failure to comply with the fundamental legal safeguards and the outcome of those cases, including the penalties applied, in the period under review.

3.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (paras. 17 and 21) and the information received from the State party on follow-up to the concluding observations, please provide the following information in relation to domestic and gender-based violence for the period under review:

(a)Annual data, disaggregated according to the type of crime and the age and sex of the victim, on the number of victims of domestic and gender-based violence, including the number of those who died as a result, the number of complaints lodged or allegations registered by the police, the number of those that were investigated, how many led to prosecutions and convictions and the punishment imposed in cases of guilt. Please also indicate the number of protection orders granted in relation to those requested;

(b)Updates on the means of redress provided to victims, including legal, medical and psychological assistance, the number of shelters and their occupancy rate, the procedure to obtain compensation, the percentage of cases in which compensation was awarded and the average compensation awarded. Please also inform the Committee about the measures taken to encourage reporting of domestic and gender-based violence, to facilitate access to complaint mechanisms, to accelerate judicial processes and to control the execution of sentences in order to ensure the safety of the victims. Please also indicate what types of protocols are in place, including for health practitioners, to guarantee effective intervention in cases of domestic and gender-based violence;

(c)Updates on the measures taken to strengthen the prevention, investigation and punishment of all forms of violence against women, children and elderly people, including an evaluation of the impact of the National Action Plan for the Prevention of Violence against Elderly People. Please also include an evaluation of the impact that the Fifth National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Domestic and Gender-based Violence (2014-2017) has had in this regard so far;

(d)Updates on the steps taken to sensitize and train law-enforcement personnel in investigating and prosecuting cases of domestic and gender-based violence and awareness-raising measures to fight gender stereotypes and domestic violence among the population at large.

4.With regard to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (paras. 19 and 21) please provide the following information in relation to the crime of trafficking in human beings, for the period under review:

(a)Annual statistical data, disaggregated by age, sex, country of origin and employment sector of the victim, on the number of victims of trafficking and the number of complaints lodged or reports registered by the police regarding this crime, the number of persons investigated, how many led to prosecutions and convictions and the punishment imposed in cases of guilt;

(b)Updates on the means of redress provided to victims, including legal, medical and psychological assistance as well as medium- and long-term support programmes, the number of shelters, including for men and children, and their occupancy rate, the procedure to obtain compensation, the percentage of cases in which compensation was awarded and the average compensation granted, and the efforts made to make victims aware of their right to compensation. Please explain the efforts undertaken to provide renewable residence permits, even when the victim is unable to cooperate with the authorities, and protection against return to all victims and witnesses of trafficking, particularly when the person would be in danger of torture in his or her country of origin. Please also indicate the measures taken to provide assistance and protection to victims who report incidents of trafficking to the police;

(c)Measures taken to strengthen the prevention and investigation of and the punishment for trafficking, particularly for the purpose of labour exploitation, as well as the identification of victims and the international cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination. Please also indicate the measures taken to address the root causes of child trafficking and to strengthen investigation of child abduction, child prostitution and child pornography. Please include an evaluation of the impact that the Second National Plan for the Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings has had in this regard and how the Third National Action Plan for 2014-2016 addresses the gaps identified. Is there a methodology in the State party to assess the effectiveness and impact of all the initiatives in this area?

(d)Steps taken to sensitize and train front-line professionals in identifying victims of trafficking, and law-enforcement personnel, prosecutors, judges and labour inspectors in investigating and prosecuting cases of trafficking and assisting and protecting the victims;

(e)Awareness-raising campaigns targeting the population at large on forced labour and sex trafficking, including campaigns to discourage demand.

5.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 21), please provide information on the prevalence of the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the territory of the State party and the impact of the measures taken to eradicate that practice, including the Second Programme of Action for the Elimination of FGM (2011-2013). Please also provide annual statistical data on the number of complaints lodged or reports registered by the police regarding this practice, the number of persons investigated, how many led to prosecutions and convictions and the punishment imposed in those cases.

Article 3

6.Please provide annual statistical data for the period under review, disaggregated by the type of asylum procedure (special or regular) and the sex, country of origin and age of the person concerned, on:

(a)The number of asylum requests registered;

(b)The number of requests for asylum, refugee status or other forms of humanitarian protection that were granted, indicating, when applicable, the number of cases in which protection was granted in application of the principle of non-refoulement;

(c)The number of torture victims identified among asylum seekers in relation to the total number of asylum seekers, the procedures applied to undertake such identification and the measures taken towards those identified as torture victims, indicating whether medical examinations that include an evaluation of the traumatisation are carried outupon arrival toreception centres, international areas at airport or in detention centres;

(d)The number of persons extradited, expelled or returned and the countries to which they were expelled or extradited;

(e)The number of appeals against expulsion or extradition decisions on the basis that applicants might be in danger of being subject to torture in their countries of destination, and the result of those appeals.

7.With reference to the asylum procedure and the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 14), please provide information on:

(a)The occupancy rate of temporary centres and reception centres for asylum seekers, disaggregated by place of detention, indicating whether there are alternative measures to detention for asylum seekers, such as reporting requirements or sureties, and the percentage of cases per year in which they have been applied;

(b)Measures taken to ensure that all persons seeking asylum in the State party, including at its border crossings, enjoy all procedural guarantees, including prompt access to free and qualified legal assistance and interpreters throughout the asylum procedure, including the appeals procedure. Please also clarify if the appeal of decisions rejecting asylum has a suspensive effect on the transfer or deportation order of the individual concerned;

(c)The average processing time of asylum applications during the admissibility phase in the special procedure at the border as well as in the regular procedure and during the appeals procedure.

Articles 5, 7 and 8

8.Since the consideration of the previous report, please indicate whether the State party has rejected, for any reason, any request for extradition by another State of an individual suspected of having committed an offence of torture and, if so, whether it has started prosecution proceedings as a result. If that is the case, please provide information on the status and outcome of such proceedings.

Article 10

9.In the light of the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 20), please provide information, indicating the overall size of the target group and the percentage of those trained as well as the periodicity of the training, on the instruction provided to law- enforcement personnel at all levels, State security organs, prison staff, immigration officials, judges, prosecutors, medical personnel dealing with detainees, forensic doctors and any other State agents involved in holding persons in custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual under any form of detention or imprisonment, with respect to:

(a)The provisions of the Convention;

(b)The guidelines to detect signs of torture and ill-treatment in accordance with international standards, such as those outlined in the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol);

(c)Non-coercive investigatory/restraint techniques and the principle of the use of force as a last resort;

(d)Issues related to violence against women, domestic violence, violence against ethnic or national minorities as well as against persons because of their sexual orientation or gender;

(e)Identification and referral of victims of trafficking, torture and sexual violence among asylum seekers.

10.Please indicate whether the State party has developed specific methodologies to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of such training on the prevention and absolute prohibition of torture.

Article 11

11.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 11 (a), (b) and (c)), please provide updated information on:

(a)The occupancy rate of all places of detention, including police stations, and measures taken to reduce overcrowding, particularly in Setúbal Prison and in Angra do Heroismo Regional Prison (Azores);

(b)Measures taken to improve the sanitary conditions, ventilation, access to outdoor exercise for persons detained for 24 hours or more and access to natural light and artificial lighting in police cells, particularly in Comando do Porto and in Antas area, as well as in the psychiatric hospital at Santa Cruz do Bispo Prison and in the Lisbon Central Prison;

(c)The number of pretrial detainees, disaggregated by sex, age and ethnic origin or nationality, including as a proportion of the total number of prisoners, as well as yearly figures for the average and maximum duration of pretrial detention. Please also indicate the measures taken to reduce the number of prisoners awaiting trial;

(d)Measures taken to ensure that juveniles detained in establishments for adults are accommodated separately.

12.In the light of the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 11 (f) and (g)), please provide updated information on:

(a)Measures taken to increase access to mental health-care services in all prison facilities;

(b) Measures taken to increase the medical staff in forensic psychiatric hospitals as well as the rehabilitative activities;

(c)Measures taken to prevent the use of restraints in forensic psychiatric hospitals or applying them as a measure of last resort.

13.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (paras. 11 (e) and 12), please provide the following information regarding the disciplinary regime in prisons:

(a)Any steps taken to amend article 105 of the Act No. 115/2009 and conduct a full review of the use of solitary confinement as a disciplinary sanction to ensure that: (i) it is a measure of last resort; (ii) it is never applied on juveniles or persons with psychosocial disabilities; (iii) there are clear and specific criteria for its application; (iv) its maximum duration, including the period of provisional isolation, is reduced; (v) the measure is not renewed consecutively. Please also clarify how often the detainees’ physical and mental condition is monitored during solitary confinement and whether detainees in solitary confinement have any contact during the application of the measure;

(b)Measures taken to ensure that prisoners are heard and are able to cross-examine evidence against them before the disciplinary measure is imposed;

(c)Measures taken to ensure that the decision on the placement of prisoners in security units and the extension thereof is reasoned and communicated to those affected, and that it can be subjected to appeal;

(d)Steps taken to establish impartial mechanisms to deal with complaints by prisoners about their conditions of detention and disciplinary sanctions imposed.

14.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 11 (d)), please provide:

(a)Annual statistical data from 2013 onwards, disaggregated by place of deprivation of liberty and the victims’ sex, age and ethnic origin on: (i) the number of deaths in custody, indicating the cause of death; (ii) the number of persons injured as a result of violence inside places of detention, indicating whether the perpetrator was a State official or a fellow detainee. Please also provide detailed information on the outcome of investigations into such deaths or violence, including penalties imposed on perpetrators of torture, ill-treatment or negligence causing death or injuries. Please also indicate what information and remedies were provided to the victims of such violations and their families;

(b)Information on the measures taken to enhance monitoring and detection of at-risk detainees and prevention of suicide and inter-prisoner violence;

(c)Information on the evaluation of the programmes in place to prevent suicide and drug abuse and to reduce incidents of inter-prisoner violence and ill-treatment in places of detention.

Articles 12 and 13

15.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (paras. 9 (a) and (c) and 21), please provide annual statistical data from 2013 onwards, disaggregated by crime and ethnicity, age and sex of the victim on: (a) the number of complaints filed or police reports initiated relating to torture and ill-treatment, attempts, complicity or participation in such acts and those related to killings or excessive use of force allegedly committed by or with the knowledge or consent of State officials; (b) the number of investigations initiated as a result of those complaints and by which authority; (c) how many were dismissed; (d) how many led to prosecutions; (e) how many led to convictions; and (f) which penal and disciplinary sanctions were applied, indicating length of prison sentences. Please also specify the number of ex officio investigations into cases of torture and ill-treatment and ex officio prosecutions per year; the number of cases of torture or ill-treatment reported by doctors following medical examinations of detainees; and the outcome of those cases.

16.In the light of the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 9 (a), (b) and (c)) please explain:

(a)How the independence of: (i) the internal investigation services of the National Republican Guard (GNR) and the Public Security Police (PSP); (ii) the Disciplinary and Inspection Unit of the Criminal Police; (iii) the Inspectorate-General of Home Affairs (IGAI); and (iv) the Inspectorate General of Justice Services (IGSJ) is guaranteed during disciplinary investigations so that there is no hierarchical or institutional link between the suspected perpetrators and the inspectors. Would all those bodies be competent to intervene in cases involving evidence of torture or ill-treatment by police officers and, if so, what is the procedure to be followed in such cases with regard to their intervention and the participation of the prosecutorial authorities during the investigation? Is the prosecutor always informed of the opening and closing of the investigations by those bodies with regard to cases of ill-treatment?

(b)How the independence of: (i) the Inspectorate General of Justice Services (IGSJ); and (ii) the Audit and Inspection Service (SAI) is guaranteed during disciplinary investigations of prison staff, so that there is no hierarchical or institutional link between the suspected perpetrators and the inspectors. Would those bodies be competent to intervene in cases involving evidence of torture or ill-treatment by prison staff and, if so, what is the procedure to be followed in such cases with regard to their intervention and the participation of the prosecutorial authorities during the investigation? Is the prosecutor always informed of the opening and closing of the investigations by those bodies in cases of ill-treatment?

(c)Whether all suspects in prima facie cases of torture and ill-treatment are, as a rule, suspended or re-assigned during the investigation.

17.In the light of the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 9 (d) and (e)), please provide information on the measures taken to ensure:

(a)That medical personnel are able to examine detainees out of the hearing and, unless the medical officer requests otherwise, out of the sight of police and prison officers;

(b)That medical records are made available to the detained person concerned and his or her lawyer, upon request;

(c)That injuries observed during the medical screening of prisoners upon admission or thereafter by medical staff are fully recorded, including information on the consistency between the allegations made and the injuries observed;

(d)That medical personnel are able to report in strict confidentiality about signs of torture to the supervisory judge, the prosecutor and the prison inspection services.

18.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 10), please provide information on:

(a)The steps taken to establish a centralized and independent mechanism to receive complaints of torture and ill-treatment by State officials that is accessible to all places of detention, especially prisons, and a centralized register of complaints with information on the corresponding investigations, dismissals, trials, criminal and disciplinary proceedings imposed and protection measures imposed;

(b)Measures taken to guarantee the confidentiality of complaints and the protection of the complainants and the victims, particularly in cases where the victims are deprived of their liberty;

(c)Measures taken to sensitize detainees and the population at large about the existence of complaint mechanisms regarding cases of torture or ill-treatment by State officials. Please clarify whether complainants are always informed of the outcome of their complaints;

(d)Measure taken to strengthen the monitoring functions of the existing bodies, such as the supervisory judge and the ombudsperson, including in forensic psychiatric hospitals.

Article 14

19.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 16) and paragraph 46 of the Committee’s general comment No. 3 (2012) on the implementation of article 14 by States parties, please provide information on:

(a)Redress (restitution, satisfaction, including restoration of dignity and reputation, and guarantees of non-repetition) and compensation measures ordered by the Commission for the Protection of Crime Victims and the courts to victims of torture and ill-treatment and their families since the consideration of the last periodic report. This should include the number of requests for compensation that have been made, the number granted and the amounts ordered and actually provided in each case;

(b)Any rehabilitation programmes for victims of torture and ill-treatment, specifying whether they include medical and psychological assistance;

(c)Protective measures available to victims of torture or ill-treatment and members of their families, indicating the number of protective measures that have been made available to victims of torture in relation to the number of requests made. Please also state whether victims of torture have access to free legal aid.

Article 16

20.With reference to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 18) and the information received from the State party on follow-up to the concluding observations, please provide information on:

(a)Annual statistical data from 2013 onwards, disaggregated by offence or crime and ethnicity, age and sex of the victim on: (i) the number of complaints filed against police officers concerning racist or racially discriminatory acts; (ii) the number of investigations initiated as a result of those complaints and by which authority; (iii) how many were dismissed; (iv) how many led to prosecutions or disciplinary action; (v) how many led to convictions; and (vi) which penal and disciplinary sanctions were applied;

(b)Measures taken to monitor attacks and abuses, including racist comments and materials through the Internet, and excessive use of force by the police on members of the Roma community, and to ensure effective investigations and prosecution of perpetrators of those attacks, including any alleged discriminatory motives that may provoke those actions;

(c) Measures taken to effectively protect members of the Roma community against threats and attacks to which they may be exposed on account of their ethnic origin and to encourage reporting of ill-treatment by the police, including through awareness-raising campaigns on complaint mechanisms;

(d)Measures taken to publicly condemn attacks against Roma and other minorities and to increase the awareness-raising measures, including among the police, to promote tolerance and respect for diversity;

(e)Measures adopted to enhance training for law-enforcement personnel, judges and prosecutors on combating crimes against minorities and to consider the racist aspect of an offence;

(f) The impact of the National Roma Communities Integration Strategy 2013-2020 in improving relations between law enforcement officials and the Roma community.

21.In the light of the Committee’s previous concluding observations (para. 16) please provide information on the measures taken to ensure that electric discharge weapons (Tasers) are not part of the equipment of custodial staff in prisons or any other place of deprivation of liberty. Please also provide information on the measures taken to monitor the use of electric discharge weapons through mandatory reporting and reviews and to limit their use to extreme situations where there is a real and immediate threat to life or risk of serious injury.

22.Please provide information on the measures taken since the last review, including awareness-raising campaigns and parenting education programmes, to end the practice of corporal punishment in all settings, including in the home.

Other issues

23.Please provide updated information on the measures taken by the State party to respond to threats of terrorism, and describe if and how those anti-terrorism measures have affected human rights safeguards in law and in practice. Please explain how the State party has ensured that those measures comply with all its obligations under international law, especially the Convention, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular resolution 1624 (2005). Please provide information on the relevant training given to law enforcement officers; the number of persons convicted under such legislation; the legal safeguards and remedies available to persons subjected to anti-terrorism measures in law and in practice; whether there have been complaints of non-observance of international standards; and the outcome of those complaints.

General information on other measures and developments relating to the implementation of the Convention in the State party

24.Please provide detailed information on any other relevant legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures taken since the consideration of the previous report that implement the provisions of the Convention or the Committee’s recommendations. This may include institutional developments, plans or programmes. Please indicate the resources allocated and statistical data and provide any other information that the State party considers relevant.