Details
Legal instruments & key provisions
| Legal instrument | Key provision |
|---|---|
| Sentence Execution Code of Latvia (Grozījumi Latvijas Sodu izpildes kodeksā) | Solitary confinement is generally used for disciplinary purposes (up to 14 days in case of adults and 3 days in case of juveniles) for systematic or grave violations of prison regime. However, there are cases when solitary confinement is used for protection or for holding prisoners with constant behavioural problems. Women detainees who are in prison with infants and pregnant women should not be placed in solitary confinement at all. |
| Cabinet of Ministers regulations No 800 of 27 November 2007 ʺInternal Regulations of the Pretrial detention facilitiesʺ (Ministru kabineta 2007. gada 27. novembra noteikumi Nr. 800 ʺIzmeklēšanas cietuma iekšējās kārtības noteikumiʺ) | Detained persons shall be provided with food and drinking water, there shall be natural light in the cells, and the temperature shall not be lower than 18 °C, a disciplinary isolation cell shall not be smaller than 1.8 x 2.5 metres, and a window shall not be smaller than 0.5 x 0.5 metres. Detained persons placed in disciplinary isolation shall be provided the diet prescribed by a medical practitioner if their state of health so requires. If a pre-trial detainee has tuberculosis, they shall be allowed a daily outdoor exercise of one hour. A juvenile in pre-trial detention shall be allowed an outdoor exercise of one and a half hours a day. Bed-linen shall be issued to a detainee in disciplinary isolation only during the night rest. |
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS
| Year | Recommendation | Report |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | The natural lighting is insufficient to fully illuminate the cell. Therefore, it is necessary to provide artificial lighting at the time when a person is placed in the cell. If the door of the cell is open, the partially separated sanitary annex is fully visible, thereby failing to ensure the person’s privacy. The separation of the sanitary needs to be adjusted so that it would ensure full privacy. Particular attention shall be paid to sufficiently frequent application of the necessary measures to exterminate rats and insects in order to ensure that hygiene requirements are met throughout the facility. [..] The natural ventilation is not sufficient to ensure full ventilation of the cell. | Report details |
| 2023 | I invite the head of the Prison Administration to identify this issue in all prisons and to plan for the installation of alarm buttons in all disciplinary punishment cells. At the same time, please provide information on the plans to install alarm buttons also in other areas, like the regular cells. | Report details |