4.8.4. Conditions in detention facilities

4.8.4. Conditions in detention facilities 

The conditions to be met in detention are defined in the recast Reception Conditions Directive, while international and European legal frameworks on human rights provide additional standards and guarantees to protect against inhuman and degrading treatment. 

Growing concerns about conditions in detention centres and the use of de facto detention were raised for example for Greece,839 Italy,840 Lithuania,841 Malta842 and Poland. To accommodate a larger number of detainees, as an emergency solution, the minimum space per person was temporarily reduced from 4 sqm to 2 sqm in Poland on the basis of the Ordinance of the Minister of the Interior and Administration.843 All detention centres for families and single women were returned to 4 sqm on 25 April 2022, and the centre in Wędrzyn returned to 4 sqm on 6 June 2022. In Malta, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights was also struck by the deplorable situation in Block A in the Safi Detention Centre, despite the efforts made by the authorities to improve the living conditions.844 Thus, the Commissioner strongly urged the authorities to take immediate action to ensure dignified conditions. 

Other deficiencies were noted especially concerning the provision of health care to people in detention,845 the use of cameras and a lack of a complaint system (in Cyprus 846 and Finland), lack of access to exercise and the provision of recreational activities (in Finland 847 and Croatia 848), absence of legal representation (in Switzerland) 849 (see
Section 4.10) and restrictions on the use of mobile phones. In Greece, Refugee Support Aegean noted that the number of medical staff and interpreters in pre-removal centres remained worryingly low.850

In Finland, the CPT had no critical remarks to make on material conditions, but a few minor deficiencies were identified.851 The Finnish government presented answers to the CPT following its visit in September 2020.852 The government provided information on access to medical treatment, psychological support and psychiatric treatment in the detention facilities for foreigners in Metsälä and Joutseno. The Metsälä facility (Helsinki detention facility) will be moved to a new building in 2024. The Ombudsperson noted privacy issues in the Joutseno detention unit with the use of cameras in specific areas. It also lacked a complaint system that is accessible, confidential and functional, where complaints and action taken must be recorded.853

The impact of COVID-19 measures continued to impede access to detention facilities,854 and consequently, access to legal assistance, social and health support, and communication.855 For example, JRS Europe observed the continuation of some of these specific challenges in 2021 as well.856 Social distancing and quarantine obligations led to capacity adjustments in Sweden and transfers to other locations to address shortages in Netherlands.