In a report released today, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the prevention of torture (CPT) calls on the state, entity and cantonal levels authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to issue a clear statement of zero tolerance of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, provide targeted training on manual control techniques, introduce audio-visual recording of all police interviews, and better regulate the use of force and the independent assessment of the proportionality of its use.
The primary objective of the report, based on a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2024, was to examine the treatment of detainees, as well as that of sentenced and remand prisoners held in prison establishments. The situation of the residents of three social-care institutions in both entities that make up the state (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska (RS)) was also examined, along with that of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under national immigration law.
Ill-treatment in detention documented
During the visit the committee received numerous allegations of physical ill-treatment of detainees by police officers in both entities. The alleged ill-treatment generally consisted of slaps, punches, kicks, blows with batons and from the barrel of pistols or assault rifles to various parts of the body. It was primarily inflicted by members of special intervention units of the Sarajevo and Tuzla cantonal special intervention police, the gendarmerie and the anti-terrorist unit of the Republika Srpska police (SAJ). The committee concludes that persons deprived of their liberty by these law-enforcement agencies are at risk of physical ill-treatment and of suffering serious injury.
The committee notes a downward trend in the prison population across state and entity prison systems and ongoing renovation efforts but calls for an end to the use of padded cells with straitjackets at Zenica prison and highlights sub-standard conditions in the remand section of Tuzla prison, including overcrowding, poor ventilation, inadequate hygiene and maintenance, vermin, and insufficient healthcare staffing. It also reiterates concerns about the de facto prolonged segregation of female remand prisoners due to the fragmented prison system. It recommends specific medical screening to identify risks, including mental-health needs and prior sexual or other gender-based violence.
Conditions in social care homes inadequate
The CPT found extremely poor living conditions in all three social care homes visited, with serious shortcomings in maintenance, cleanliness and hygiene. The worst conditions were in pavilions IV and V in Višegrad, where dilapidated facilities, broken furniture and appalling hygiene were observed, including residents lying in soiled bedding, lacking basic items such as pillows or bedding, and in some cases being found naked. The CPT considers that conditions in these two units may amount to inhuman and degrading treatment and calls for urgent improvements. It also demanded immediate action in a case where a female resident had been attached to a bed for several years. The committee urges reduced use of restraints and alternative measures to prevent self-harm.
Conditions for foreign nationals detained in a prefabricated container at Sarajevo airport were extremely poor, including a mother with young children held for three days without activities or outdoor exercise. The committee urged the authorities to replace it with a suitable holding facility. At Lukavica immigration detention centre, several detainees alleged severe physical ill-treatment by security staff of a foreign national with a serious mental disorder, who was found in critical condition in disciplinary solitary confinement and in urgent need of psychiatric care.
In their response, the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina focused on developments such as the training of police officers on the prevention of ill-treatment, and the creation of more effective systems for the reporting and investigation of allegations of police misconduct. The response also includes an update on the establishment of a preventive mechanism for the prevention of torture within the Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as its staffing and operationalisation.
