Combating ill-treatment of detained persons in Eastern Europe
Ill-treatment of detained persons, whether at time of arrest, during pre-trial detention, or following conviction, is a systemic issue in many Eastern European countries. Through fact-finding research, legislative/policy recommendations and practitioner training, Professor James Murdoch’s work has underpinned changes to law, policy and practice to safeguard rights and ensure better standards for detainees in North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Georgia.
The research
Professor Murdoch is an international human rights expert with an extensive body of work in human rights law. A key focus of his research has been the European Convention for Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.
At the invitation of the Council of Europe (CoE), Murdoch’s research is undertaken on a country-by-country basis, as to why these standards have not been met.
In North Macedonia, complaints of police and prison officer ill-treatment of detainees were routinely ignored, making the extent and nature of human rights violations difficult to quantify. Alongside fellow researchers, Murdoch recommended the establishment of an independent body to “police the police”, safeguarding prisoners’ rights and ensuring violations come before the domestic courts.
In Bulgaria, the domestic courts were failing to correctly apply human rights standards when faced with applications by detainees. In collaboration with a Bulgarian judge and lawyer, Murdoch recommended and facilitated a programme of judicial training to build capacity and foster attitudinal change in relation to their understanding and application of appropriate human rights standards.
In Georgia, the treatment of those detained in “Temporary Detention Isolators” did not comply with appropriate human rights standards. In a report for the CoE, Murdoch made detailed recommendations to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights .
The impact
Murdoch has worked with the CoE and beneficiary governments to implement the recommendations contained in his research reports on North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Georgia, strengthening the human rights of detainees in these countries.
In North Macedonia, the ‘external oversight mechanism’, implemented in October 2018, to ‘police the police’ and influence the treatment of detainees by the police in accordance with human rights standards, has contributed to better treatment and complaints processes for approximately 3000 people.
In Bulgaria, the training programme initially delivered by Murdoch is led by Bulgarian judges and has worked with approximately 2000 judges.
In Georgia, Murdoch’s report led to new human rights compliant standards being drawn up by the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. These standards came into force on 1 November 2016 and by 2018 reported standards had improved. They provide various additional protections against ill-treatment for approximately 12,000 detainees annually.