Council of Europe reports systemic abuses and informal hierarchies in prisons across Europe

Council of Europe reports systemic abuses and informal hierarchies in prisons across Europe

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) raised  serious concerns Thursday about prison conditions and psychiatric care practices across Europe. The 34th General Report highlights issues pertaining to prison overcrowding, the continued influence of informal prisoner hierarchies, and the excessive use of pharmacological treatments in psychiatric institutions. The CPT co…

According to the Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee, "there continues to be an informal prison hierarchy" in nine countries that were part of the former Soviet Union (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Russian Federation and Ukraine). "The power and influence of the informal prison hierarchy are slowly declining in some countries, but continue to represent a serious risk to the human rights of prisoner…