{"id":11834,"date":"2026-09-03T11:00:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=11834"},"modified":"2026-09-03T11:00:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:00:52","slug":"council-of-europe-report-romania-makes-progress-against-detainee-ill-treatment-but-overcrowding-persists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=11834","title":{"rendered":"Council of Europe report: Romania makes progress against detainee ill-treatment, but overcrowding persists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Romania has made significant progress in preventing the ill-treatment of people held by the police and in prisons, according to a new report<\/a> by the Council of Europe\u2019s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). However, the committee warned that conditions in police detention facilities remain very poor and that prisons are operating at 119.5% capacity.<\/p>\n

The report presented the findings of a 2025 visit to five police detention facilities, four prisons in Boto\u0219ani, Bucharest-Rahova, Craiova, and Ia\u0219i, and two detention centres for children and young adults in Craiova and T\u00e2rgu Ocna.<\/p>\n

The CPT welcomed the authorities\u2019 \u201czero-tolerance policy towards ill-treatment\u201d and noted an improvement in police conduct. Most detainees interviewed said they had been treated professionally and respectfully, although the delegation also received some allegations of slaps, punches, and other physical ill-treatment, including from children.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo further combat ill-treatment and impunity, the authorities should take additional measures such as training in non-coercive interviewing, expanding technological support, and providing prosecutors with their own investigators,\u201d reads the press release.<\/p>\n

Conditions in police detention facilities remained \u201cdeplorable,\u201d according to the committee. Problems included overcrowding, humidity, poor hygiene, worn mattresses, and inadequate food, while many facilities remained below ground and offered limited access to natural light.<\/p>\n

Detainees generally had no meaningful activities apart from one hour per day outdoors, often in small and poorly equipped spaces, the same report found. The CPT warned that prolonged detention under such conditions \u201ccould amount to degrading treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe authorities should take urgent measures to offer appropriate material conditions and regime. Further, the CPT reiterates that persons placed in pre-trial detention should be under the authority of the National Prison Administration,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

In prisons, the population has increased by 20% since 2020. Overcrowding was recorded at all four facilities visited and was highest in Ia\u0219i, at 140% of capacity, and Boto\u0219ani, at 130%.<\/p>\n

Many prisoners had only two to three square metres of living space, compared with the CPT\u2019s minimum recommendation of four square metres in shared cells. Inspectors also found poorly maintained cells, inadequate furniture, worn bedding, and frequent infestations of bed bugs and cockroaches.<\/p>\n

While the committee noted \u201csignificant progress\u201d in preventing abuse by prison staff, it expressed concern about violence among detainees at Ia\u0219i Prison and insufficient staffing across the facilities visited. It also called for improvements to healthcare, mental health support, work opportunities and vocational training.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at the centres for children and young adults, most residents spoke positively about staff. However, the delegation received allegations of slaps and baton blows at Craiova and excessive force at T\u00e2rgu Ocna, where violence among residents was described as frequent and severe and included sexual assaults.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CPT calls for an urgent review of violence-prevention policies and an enhancement of pedagogical approaches. Furthermore, staff working in these centres should not carry batons,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

In their response, the Romanian authorities said they planned to expand and modernise the prison system through investments between 2026 and 2030. They are also seeking to reinforce staffing within existing budget limits and plan to remove legal provisions treating self-harm and attempted suicide as disciplinary offences.<\/p>\n

irina.marica@romania-insider.com<\/p>\n

(Photo source:\u00a0Inquam Photos\/Octav\u00a0Ganea<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Romania has made significant progress in preventing the ill-treatment of people held by the police and in prisons, according to a new report by the Council of Europe\u2019s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). However, the committee warned that conditions in police detention facilities remain very poor and that prisons are operating at 119.5% […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11834\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}