On Thursday 7 September 2023, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) issued a report in which it urged the Luxembourg authorities to stop detaining children in the Centre Pénitentiaire de Luxembourg, also known as Schrassig Prison.
In its report, the CPT argued that the material conditions at Schrassig Prison were "unacceptable" and "unsuitable" for children, without strict separation from adult prisoners. It added that children were "left to their own devices". The CPT also called for stronger action to tackle police ill-treatment and the excessive use of force, as well as urgent measures to ensure that all patients in closed psychiatric units can benefit from daily exercise outdoors in an appropriate space.
These are among the main findings of a report published following the committee's latest periodic visit to places of detention in Luxembourg, from 27 March to 4 April 2023.
The committee also found the living conditions for children held at the Security Unit of the State Socio-Educational Centre (Unisec) in Dreiborn to be "deplorable", reporting "degraded" material conditions and an "impoverished regime". The CPT repeated its call for changes to legislation in Luxembourg to strengthen guarantees over child placement procedures.
In addition, the CPT reported that it had received several allegations of physical ill-treatment, insults and threats from people detained by the police. The committee urged the authorities to stop using 2 m2 "security cells" during police questioning and expressed ongoing concern over security measures used by the police.
Nevertheless, the CPT said it had received no allegations of physical ill-treatment of detainees by staff in the prisons that it visited. It even described material conditions as "excellent" in the new Centre Pénitentiaire d'Uerschterhaff (Uerschterhaff Prison) in Sanem.
During the visit, the committee also examined various structural problems affecting the closed psychiatry sector in Luxembourg. The CPT noted that it had asked the authorities for further information on measures taken to deal with this situation, whilst expressing concern over the use of mechanical and chemical restraint measures and calling for stronger safeguards with regard to involuntary placement.
