Tuesday

5th Dec 2023

Dire pre-trial prison conditions in some EU states

  • Polish judge: "To be honest, I have probably never faced a situation where whatever a defence lawyer had to say persuaded me not to apply pre-trial detention" (Photo: Jumilla)

Cases of people held behind bars for years before trial in the EU continue to surface despite years of attempts at reform, London-based Fair Trials International says in a report.

Judges in EU countries routinely detain place people in pre-trial detention even though it is supposed to be used only in exceptional circumstances, claims the study, published on Thursday (26 May).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Fair Trials International details the abuse and case history of people, some innocent, whose lives have been ruined.

A judge in Poland told the researchers he had never been persuaded by a defence lawyer not to use pre-trial detention.

Seven months in isolation

The effects on people can be dramatic.

One person in Italy spent seven months in solitary confinement out of a total 11 months in jail on a murder charge before the trial had even started. He was later acquitted.

"I always had the hope and expectation that the decision was going to change and that I would be released," the victim told researchers.

"While you’re there though, it’s two or three times more difficult when you know that you’ve done nothing."

In Poland, another was locked up for more than three years and released on bail last September over drug charges. His released was triggered in part by a public outcry.

In Romania, a woman spent a year and nine months in pre-trial detention. Charged with fraud, she too was later acquitted.

They are among the luckier ones.

Alex Mik at Fair Trials International said people who have been locked for long periods are more likely to be found guilty.

"It has nothing to do with how likely they are to have done it [the crime]," he told this website.

The 84-page study, co-funded by the EU commission, found that one in five people in the EU held in prison had yet to be convicted. That is over 120,000 people.

The findings are drawn from interviewing 544 lawyers, 56 judges, and 45 prosecutors, spanning 10 EU states. Some 670 case files were reviewed and 242 hearings attended.

No translations in Greece

Luxembourg, according to the study, uses pre-trial detention more than any other EU state. More than 40 percent of its prison population is in pre-trial detention.

The Netherlands comes a close second followed by Cyprus and Denmark. Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic have the fewest cases at under 10 percent.

Many of the cases are also tied to long outstanding issues over the European Arrest Warrant (EAW).

The EAW, a flagship measure of EU judicial cooperation, allows authorities in one EU state to issue an arrest warrant in another.

Other problems also surface if the person is kept in poor pre-trial conditions that can then last for years.

Case files in Greece, for example, are not translated even though 43 percent of the pre-trial population are foreign nationals, notes the report.

In March, advocate general Yves Bot at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, called upon the EU executive to ensure a minimum safety net for people held in pre-trial detention.

Attempts to reform surfaced in 2011 when the European Parliament adopted a resolution on improving pre-trial detention conditions.

The reform idea was also linked to the arrest warrant, which had proposed setting up a mandatory refusal should a person's fundamental rights be at major risk.

Some jails in Romania, for instance, have packed up to 10 people in a cell that is only nine square metres.

A handful of MEPs from different political groups are now trying to get the issue back on the Commission's agenda.

On Thursday, a joint letter addressed EU justice commissioner Jourova and signed by a member each from the far-left GUE group, the liberal Alde, the Greens, and the socialist S&D, asked her to reconsider the 2011 reform proposals on detention conditions.

EU arrest warrant needs urgent reform

The European Arrest Warrant has helped to catch people who exploit Europe’s open borders to flee justice, but the flawed instrument needs urgent reform.

Prison suicide rates in France highest in Europe

Suicide rates per 10,000 inmates in 2017 in France stood at 12.6, higher than any other European country. The latest figures are part of a much bigger report out Tuesday by the Strasbourg-based human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe.

Orban's sovereignty bill seen as fresh attack on rule of law

Hungary's new sovereignty law has been criticised by the opposition as 'another dark milestone' for the country's democratic values and the rule of law — and it could bring yet another clash between Budapest and Brussels.

Analysis

How Wilders' Dutch extremism goes way beyond Islamophobia

Without losing sight of his pervasive Islamophobia, it is essential to note Geert Wilders' far-right extremism extends to other issues that could drastically alter the nature of Dutch politics — and end its often constructive role in advancing EU policies.

Latest News

  1. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  2. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  3. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion
  4. Optimising Alzheimer's disease health care pathways across Europe
  5. Georgian far-right leader laughs off potential EU sanctions
  6. The EU's U-turn on caged farm animals — explained
  7. EU-China summit and migration files in focus This WEEK
  8. COP28 debates climate finance amid inflated accounting 'mess'

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us