COVID-19 pandemic: urgent steps are needed to protect the rights of prisoners in Europe
According to the relevant human rights standards as indicated by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) in its COVID-19 Statement of Principles, the resort to alternatives to deprivation of liberty is imperative in situations of overcrowding and even more so in cases of emergency. Particular consideration should be given to those detainees with underlying health conditions; older persons who do not pose a threat to society; and those who have been charged or convicted for minor or non-violent offences. The decrease of the prison population is indispensable across Europe to ensure the effective implementation of the sanitary regulations and to ease the mounting pressure on prison personnel and the penitentiary system as a whole.
