In a new report the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has expressed concern about overcrowding and violence in prisons, and about the material conditions of detention in law enforcement establishments in Guadeloupe and French Guiana (France). It also regrets the lack of psychiatric care facilities adapted to the needs of involuntary patients in these two overseas territorial units.
In the course of this fourth visit to the French overseas territories, the CPT visited 19 police and gendarmerie establishments, three prisons and three hospitals in November and December 2023.
The vast majority of persons interviewed made no allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials. However, the CPT reiterates the importance of using no more force than strictly necessary during arrests, and of training officers in techniques for de-escalating violence. It also calls for the eradication of the practice of attaching detained persons to fixed objects, such as rings or chains. The exercise of certain fundamental guarantees was particularly challenging in French Guiana, notably due to the difficulties in accessing remote areas.
Material conditions of detention in law enforcement establishments remain a source of concern. Cells were unhygienic, frequently overcrowded, In addition, the gendarmerie persists in holding people in police custody at night in premises with no supervision or call systems.
As regards the treatment of persons transporting substances in corpore ("body-packers"), the CPT notes that the arrangements for recovering drug capsules were often inadequate, or even amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment.
Prison overcrowding was widespread in the three prisons visited, with occupancy rates exceeding 225% in some wards. A large number of people were forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor, in cells offering only 2 to 3 m2 of living space per person. Material conditions were generally deplorable and dilapidated. Building management was particularly difficult, exacerbated by the heat and humidity.
In their response to the report, the French authorities provide detailed information on the CPT's recommendations.
