The Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) published a report on Norway based on its visit there in May 2024. During its visit, the CPT examined the situation of persons deprived of their liberty in prisons, police stations, the Trandum immigration detention facility and psychiatric hospitals.
Although no allegations of ill-treatment were received in the two police stations visited, CPT noted that combined with the practice of non-recording of injuries upon admission in a police station, and the frequent absence of a medical examination upon entry in a remand prison, the absence of access to a lawyer from the outset of detention creates a systemic weakness as to the prevention of police ill-treatment for certain categories of persons.
Concerning prisons, no allegations of physical ill-treatment of prisoners by staff were received by the CPT. On the contrary, the Norwegian prison system continued to benefit from generally skilful and motivated staff. The material conditions in the prisons visited were mostly excellent and most of the prisoners had work or followed education. However, the CPT noted that the decreasing budget and problems attracting and retaining staff created difficulties in offering a meaningful regime: in several prisons visited work schedules became irregular and subject to unexpected interruptions and there was economising on education.
To attract and to retain staff was also a major challenge for the psychiatric hospitals visited. A recurring issue in the three hospitals visited concerned women living on mixed gender wards with mostly men. CPT recommends allocating dedicated areas of a ward to female patients and that staff are protective towards patients vulnerable to potentially unwanted sexual contact.
