Country

Czechia

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Act No. 169/1999 on the Performance of the Punishment of the Deprivation of Liberty (zákon o výkonu trestu odnětí svobody)The national standard set for time per day spent outdoors is one hour per day, both in the case of the exercise of the punishment of deprivation of liberty and in the exercise of custody. Time spent indoors is not defined.
The Rules of Procedure of the Exercise of the Punishment of the Deprivation of Liberty (vyhláška, kterou se vydává řád výkonu trestu odnětí svobody)Prisoners are locked in their cell for the 8-hour period that is reserved for sleep. This period of time can be extended in justifiable cases by the director of the prison, mainly for reasons of security and safety in the prison. Furthermore, all prisoners must follow a special programme of treatment which describes the activities that a prisoner is required to perform, including working activities, and recreational and educational activities.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2016The Public Defender of Rights recommended that it be stipulated, in a list of examples, the situations in which it is possible to extend the period of time for locking prisoners in their cells/bedrooms, in which case the lengthening of the period of time in which they are locked in their cells must be supported by an individual risk assessment and the security reasons must be demonstratively presented for each prisoner, no later than 30 June 2016. Report details
2022The institute of reduced regime is one of the manifestations of the principle of humanization of the prison system; its purpose is, among other things, to reduce the intensity of stressful situations resulting from imprisonment [...] Creating spaces for reduced regime is a difficult problem to solve in practice for some prisons. In some cases, the prisons are located in listed buildings or the layout of the building does not allow for an ideal space to be set aside to fulfil the original purpose of introducing this institution.[...] Under the set system (created by legislation, the prison itself and the architectural possibilities), some detainees cannot achieve accommodation in a detention facility with a reduced regime, regardless of their behaviour during the proceedings. In all prisons visited, this was the case for persons accused of more serious crimes, and in some prisons, the reduced regime is also unavailable to female detainees. In the latter case, the problem is related to the spatial possibilities of the prisons, given the small number of female detainees in this context. Report details