CPT _2010_ 82 - EN - Report Armenia 2010 _2_ - The Government ...

- 36 -The CPT calls upon the Armenian authorities to review the security arrangements forlife-sentenced prisoners, in the light of the preceding remarks. Steps should be taken withoutdelay to ensure that at Nubarashen Prison, the handcuffing of life-sentenced prisoners whenoutside their cells is an exceptional measure and is always based on an individualised riskassessment.73. As regards possibilities for contact with the outside world, lifers were allowed to send andreceive letters and to make phone calls once a week. However, Armenian legislation continues toimpose severe restrictions on the visiting entitlement of life-sentenced prisoners. 51 The CPT mustrecall that this approach runs counter to the generally accepted principle that offenders are sent toprison as a punishment, not to receive punishment. Further, short-term visits took place, as a rule,under conditions not allowing physical contact between prisoners and their visitors (in booths withplexiglas partitions). The Committee considers that special efforts should be made to prevent thebreakdown of family ties of prisoners serving life sentences and to enable them to exercise rightsunder Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The CPT calls upon the Armenianauthorities to amend the legislation with a view to bringing the visit entitlement of lifesentencedprisoners on a par with that of other inmates. As a general rule, visits should takeplace in open conditions (e.g. around a table), visits through a partition being the exception.74. More generally, the CPT must stress again that it can see no justification for systematicallysegregating life-sentenced prisoners. 52 Such an approach is not in line with the Council of Europe’sCommittee of Ministers’ Recommendation (2003) 23 of 9 October 2003 on the management byprison administrations of life-sentenced and other long-term prisoners. The report accompanyingthat recommendation recalls that the assumption is often wrongly made that the fact of a lifesentence implies that an inmate is dangerous in prison. The placement of persons sentenced to lifeimprisonment should therefore be the result of a comprehensive and ongoing risk and needsassessment, based on an individualised sentence plan, and not merely a result of their sentence. TheCPT recommends that the Armenian authorities review the legislation and practice asregards the segregation of life-sentenced prisoners, in the light of these remarks.5152Pursuant to Section 92 of the Penitentiary Code, life-sentenced prisoners and other inmates sentenced forhaving committed particularly serious crimes are entitled to at least three short visits (of up to four hours) andone long visit (of up to 72 hours) per year (see, in this connection, paragraph 124).Section 68 (8) of the Penitentiary Code provides that lifers should be kept separate from prisoners servingfixed-term sentences.