Being placed in solitary confinement for an extended period is "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment", according to the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez.
While acknowledging there are legitimate uses of solitary confinement in prisons, Mr Mendez stressed they should not be for extended periods of time.
“For example, if a prisoner is sent to solitary as a response to a very serious disciplinary breach or for their protection this is understandable. But even in those cases the state is obligated to do it on a limited basis in terms of length of time and it is their responsibility to find some other way to deal with the problem in the long term, rather than just putting people in isolation for a prolonged period.”
Mr Mendez added: “There is no question to me that those people are suffering what constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and perhaps, depending on the gravity of their suffering – even torture.
“It is disheartening to see that such periods of solitary confinement are still occurring, but like in all matters of international human rights law you have to campaign over a long period of time to get results.”
Ireland’s record
In July next year the UN Committee against Torture will consider how Ireland is meeting its obligations under the UN convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Mr Mendez said: “Clearly the figures show Ireland has violated the emerging standard that we have established in terms of how long people should be spending in solitary confinement. The Irish Government should be aware that this issue will be raised when the UN committee hears evidence. So they should come prepared to say how they are dealing with this problem.”
With reference to individual prisoners choosing to stay in solitary or requesting to go into solitary, Mr Mendez said: “This needs to be addressed because the very fact that an individual would not want to have any meaningful social contact with anyone is already a sign of distress. So even in those cases I believe the State should find alternative ways of dealing with that person.”
Mr Mendez was appointed as the UN special rapporteur in November 2010. He is due to step down from the role at the end of this month.
Effects on psyche
“Scientific literature suggests that after 15 days of such isolation the mind starts working differently, the effects on your psyche can be harmful and perhaps even permanent.
“Most countries will say they monitor everyone who is in solitary and claim they are fine, they are healthy and everything is okay. In my view the fact that somebody can withstand torture doesn’t mean that he is not being tortured. The fact that a prisoner is coping, does not mean he is not suffering.”
In July 2013, the director general of the Irish Prison Service established a group to look at measures to reduce the number of prisoners held on restricted regimes with a view to ensuring that all receive out of cell time of at least three hours per day, to engage in exercise or activity. Mr Mendez welcomed this progress but said all states had an obligation to amend their regulations so that nobody spent more than 15 days in solitary.
Commenting on prisons in both the Republic and Northern Ireland he said: “I would encourage both governments to continue to review their practices. In fact it’s an obligation under the UN Convention against Torture . . . It’s explicitly contracted when countries sign the Convention against Torture”