Medical examination of detainees in Catalonia, Spain, carried out in the presence of police officers

Introduction: On 14th October 2019, the Supreme Court of Spain issued a court judgment convicting social and political leaders in Catalonia, of crimes of embezzlement, sedition and disobedience. Following this, widespread protests in Catalonia began. During these protests, there were also numerous c...

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Main Authors: Carme Vivancos, Iñaki Rivera Beiras
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims 2020-06-01
Series:Torture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://tidsskrift.dk/torture-journal/article/view/119257
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author Carme Vivancos
Iñaki Rivera Beiras
author_facet Carme Vivancos
Iñaki Rivera Beiras
author_sort Carme Vivancos
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: On 14th October 2019, the Supreme Court of Spain issued a court judgment convicting social and political leaders in Catalonia, of crimes of embezzlement, sedition and disobedience. Following this, widespread protests in Catalonia began. During these protests, there were also numerous clashes between protesters and members of different Catalan and Spanish police forces, which ended with more than 600 people suf- fering injuries to varying degrees. Method: Semi-structured interviews in prison (n=22) with people injured and detained during demonstrations.  Results: No detainees were informed of their right to a medical examination. 50% of detain- ees reported access to medical examinations in police custody. In all cases this was carried out in primary healthcare centres in the presence of police in the examination room. In all cases the report was given to the police instead of the detainee. The whereabouts of this docu- mentation is unknown despite attempts from the detainees and their lawyers to obtain them. 31% of detainees reported being medically examined in the courthouse, with police presence at all examinations. Finally, all detainees reported routine medical examinations at the entrance to prison for pre-trial detention, none of which were carried out in the presence of police forces. Detainees reported good treatment once in the prison. Conclusion: The results show a serious breach of regional, national and international, regulations and in particular the Istanbul Protocol principles relating to the medical examination of detainees.
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spelling doaj-art-123394830ead4a299d45dcd0cc9bc2da2025-08-20T02:49:54ZengInternational Rehabilitation Council for Torture VictimsTorture1018-81851997-33222020-06-01301495310.7146/torture.v30i1.119257112988Medical examination of detainees in Catalonia, Spain, carried out in the presence of police officersCarme Vivancos0Iñaki Rivera Beiras1SIRECOVI-Universitat de BarcelonaObservatorio del Sistema Penal y los Derechos Humanos (OSPDH). Barcelona UniversityIntroduction: On 14th October 2019, the Supreme Court of Spain issued a court judgment convicting social and political leaders in Catalonia, of crimes of embezzlement, sedition and disobedience. Following this, widespread protests in Catalonia began. During these protests, there were also numerous clashes between protesters and members of different Catalan and Spanish police forces, which ended with more than 600 people suf- fering injuries to varying degrees. Method: Semi-structured interviews in prison (n=22) with people injured and detained during demonstrations.  Results: No detainees were informed of their right to a medical examination. 50% of detain- ees reported access to medical examinations in police custody. In all cases this was carried out in primary healthcare centres in the presence of police in the examination room. In all cases the report was given to the police instead of the detainee. The whereabouts of this docu- mentation is unknown despite attempts from the detainees and their lawyers to obtain them. 31% of detainees reported being medically examined in the courthouse, with police presence at all examinations. Finally, all detainees reported routine medical examinations at the entrance to prison for pre-trial detention, none of which were carried out in the presence of police forces. Detainees reported good treatment once in the prison. Conclusion: The results show a serious breach of regional, national and international, regulations and in particular the Istanbul Protocol principles relating to the medical examination of detainees.https://tidsskrift.dk/torture-journal/article/view/119257institutional violencecataloniamedical examinationspolicecatalan independence movement
spellingShingle Carme Vivancos
Iñaki Rivera Beiras
Medical examination of detainees in Catalonia, Spain, carried out in the presence of police officers
Torture
institutional violence
catalonia
medical examinations
police
catalan independence movement
title Medical examination of detainees in Catalonia, Spain, carried out in the presence of police officers
title_full Medical examination of detainees in Catalonia, Spain, carried out in the presence of police officers
title_fullStr Medical examination of detainees in Catalonia, Spain, carried out in the presence of police officers
title_full_unstemmed Medical examination of detainees in Catalonia, Spain, carried out in the presence of police officers
title_short Medical examination of detainees in Catalonia, Spain, carried out in the presence of police officers
title_sort medical examination of detainees in catalonia spain carried out in the presence of police officers
topic institutional violence
catalonia
medical examinations
police
catalan independence movement
url https://tidsskrift.dk/torture-journal/article/view/119257
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