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

- 84 -- the existing legal arrangements and practice concerning the role of health-care staff inrelation to disciplinary matters to be reviewed (paragraph 121);- the shortcomings observed in Kosh Prison’s disciplinary unit to be remedied(paragraph 122);- all prisoners placed in disciplinary cells at Nubarashen Prison to be provided with at leastone hour of outdoor exercise every day (paragraph 123);- the relevant regulations to be amended to ensure that prisoners have access to readingmaterial during disciplinary confinement (paragraph 123);- the Armenian authorities to take measures to ensure that placement of prisoners in adisciplinary cell does not include a total prohibition on family contacts. Further, anyrestrictions on family contacts as a form of punishment should be imposed only where theoffence relates to such contacts (paragraph 123);- action to be taken at Kosh Prison to ensure that the management of visits remains the prisonadministration’s prerogative (paragraph 124);- access to the telephone to be improved at Kosh Prison (paragraph 125);- the Armenian authorities to take effective steps to ensure that the rights of remand prisonersto receive visits and to have access to the telephone are not unduly restricted. Anyprohibition on visits should be specifically substantiated by the needs of the investigation orsecurity considerations, require the approval of a judicial authority and be applied for aspecified period of time, with reasons stated. Further, any decision to prohibit or imposerestrictions on a given remand prisoner’s access to the telephone should be based on asubstantiated risk of collusion, intimidation or another illegal activity and be for a specifiedperiod. If necessary, the appropriate legal framework should be amended (paragraph 126);- the Armenian authorities to ensure that the right of prisoners to lodge complaints is fullyeffective, by guaranteeing inter alia that complainants are free from reprisals. In this context,the complaints procedures should be reviewed so as to safeguard the confidential characterof prisoners’ correspondence with outside complaints and inspection bodies (including theCPT) (paragraph 127).comments- the Armenian authorities are invited to increase the visit entitlements of both remand andsentenced prisoners so as to ensure that they have the right to receive more frequent visits(e.g. one short visit per week, with the possibility of accumulating visit entitlements forperiods during which no visits have been received) (paragraph 124);- the CPT would like to stress that any action by prison staff to vet or read prisoners’ lettersaddressed to the Committee would be considered as a violation of the principle of cooperationset out in Article 3 of the Convention (paragraph 127);- the CPT trusts that the Armenian authorities will continue to promote the independentmonitoring of prison establishments (paragraph 128).