Mr. Francisco Caamaño Domínguez
Ministro de Justicia
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Dear Minister,
I am writing to express my concern about the continued use of incommunicado detention in Spain. Various United Nations and Council of Europe human rights bodies have strongly criticised this practice and called for it to be abandoned, as it violates detainees’ fair trial rights and increases the risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
The current Spanish law of criminal procedure (specifically articles 509, 520bis and 527) authorises police to hold detainees for up to five days, followed by up to a further eight days of incommunicado detention in prison on remand. During this period, the legislation denies detainees’ access to a lawyer of their own choice and prohibits them from speaking with any lawyer in private. It does not allow detainees to be examined by a doctor of their own choice and denies detainees the right to inform their family of their detention. All of this is in violation of fundamental international human rights standards and fair trial principles.
International bodies have repeatedly expressed concern about the links between incommunicado detention and the risk of torture. I am concerned that allegations of torture continue to be made by detainees held incommunicado in Spain and that these allegations are not properly investigated. For example, Mohamed Mrabet Fahsi was arrested on 10 January 2006 in “Operación Chacal” and held incommunicado for four days, during which time he says he was subjected to ill treatment including prolonged sleep-deprivation and threats against his family. His complaints have never been investigated. This is contrary to international law, specifically the Convention against Torture, which requires Spain to ensure a prompt and impartial investigation wherever there are grounds to believe torture may have occurred.
I call on you to make incommunicado detention a thing of the past in Spain. When revising the law of criminal procedure I urge you to bring Spanish legislation into line with international standards by abrogating articles 509, 520bis and 527. I also call on you to ensure effective investigations are carried out whenever allegations of torture are made, beginning with the case of Mohammed Mrabet Fahsi.
Yours sincerely
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