Turin's CIE - International University College of Turin
Turin's CIE - International University College of Turin Turin's CIE - International University College of Turin
“[A]t times police beat people. A policeman threatened to kill him [a fellow detainee]. A policeman entered the room at night and beat him up for no reason. Once the Guardia di Finanza entered in the isolation room where there was a guy and they beat him up harshly They should not even enter into the isolation rooms. I saw this with my eyes 91 . And nothing was done to those Finanzieri. […]I’m talking about the military personnel […]. More precisely, I’m not talking about the army, they are good guys. Rather, I’m talking about the Finanzieri and Carabinieri, they are the ones that tend to be dangerous” (Interview 15). It is difficult to measure the level of violence inside immigration detention: “However inside CIE there is a space of suspension of the law: if a policeman beats you, of course you cannot denounce it” (Interview 28). We received allegations that the controversial measures of high-pressure water cannons and tear gas have been used inside Turin’s CIE: “In October the Carabinieri came because the guys were causing trouble, they were protesting, trying to escape and Carabinieri used a lot of tear gas against them. But it was horrible for the girls as well: we were feeling really bad, our eyes hurting and full of tears” (Interview 17) 92 ; “Yesterday evening, the guys in the area near our area started a revolt 93 . It was the Blue Area. They caused a big racket. Guards came with batons and helmets. They were Carabinieri, Polizia, Guarda di Finanza and the Army, all of them. And, they shot us with water [water cannons]. I was sleeping. I heard the noise so all of us went out from our rooms. We saw all of these guards there. Some of them were shooting water and some of them were beating up the guys from the Blue Area. When they shot with water it was really something strong. The water has a pressure similar to seventy or eighty kilometers per hour. It’s like as if they were shooting with guns” (Interview 22). Police use of water cannons has come under extremely negative criticism due to the harm that can be caused by them. For example, in September 2010 in Stuttgart, Germany a protester was blinded by a water cannon 94 . Given the enclosed spaces within the CIE and the complete control exerted over the CIE inmates, the use of such extreme measures is highly questionable. The detainees inside the CIE are all rights holders and have the right to be treated with dignity and in a humane manner. The obligation that a State has to protect individuals within detention from violence is even higher owing to the fact that detained individuals are wholly under the control and care of State facilities. Indeed, the ECtHR has expressly ruled that if any individual within detention is subjected to any kind of cruel or inhuman treatment or is killed within detention, then the burden of proof is on the State 95 . We repeatedly heard from detainees that there was no accessible way to complain about specific individuals’ behaviour at Turin’s CIE. Yet, the State has a positive obligation to protect detainees against harmful actions by State 91 From the Violet Area it might be possible to see the isolation cells. See the map of Turin’s CIE under Part B. Conditions of Detention, Chapter IV. Day-to-day Issues. 92 The women’s area (Green Area) is located next to two male areas. See the map of Turin’s CIE under Part B. Conditions of Detention, Chapter IV. Day-to-day Issues. 93 This detainee was living in the Red Area. 94 See for example: Unknown author, “Blinded Stuttgart 21 protester wants apology”, The Local: Germany’s News in English (online), 28 December 2010 . 95 Anguelova v. Bulgaria, 38361/97, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights, 13 June 2002, paras. 110-111; Salman v. Turkey, 21986/93, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights, 27 June 2000, para. 100; Demiray v. Turkey, 27308/95, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights, 21 November 2000. 54 | P a g e
agents. All of the CIE staff are subject to this positive legal obligation because they are either State authorities (military personnel) or quasi-State authorities (Red Cross) who are discharging State functions. 55 | P a g e
- Page 5 and 6: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report inves
- Page 7 and 8: “I would like that centre to disa
- Page 9 and 10: 2. Experiences of Medical Care Insi
- Page 11 and 12: P A R T A . I N T R O D U CTION AND
- Page 13 and 14: the crucial European Convention for
- Page 15 and 16: esearch group was able to interview
- Page 17 and 18: collected during the interviews. As
- Page 19 and 20: iv. The length of the detention mus
- Page 21 and 22: must take into consideration the be
- Page 23 and 24: 3. THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD?
- Page 25 and 26: join them 37 . We also received ane
- Page 27 and 28: International Law 4. COMMUNICATION
- Page 29 and 30: “2.2 Upon the request of the inte
- Page 31 and 32: ● ● ● B.’S STORY (INTERVIEW
- Page 33 and 34: III. PRISON AND CIE 1. IDENTIFICATI
- Page 35 and 36: Moreover, the space and facilities
- Page 37 and 38: IV. DAY-TO-DAY ISSUES Council of Eu
- Page 39 and 40: themselves. There is one basin and
- Page 41 and 42: More simple problems such as dirty
- Page 43 and 44: anything that can be used as a weap
- Page 45 and 46: the hearing and - unless the doctor
- Page 47 and 48: Cross staff to go and inform the do
- Page 49 and 50: “Sometimes requests are underesti
- Page 51 and 52: 6. USE, MISUSE AND ABUSE OF PSYCHOT
- Page 53 and 54: One interesting fact that emerged f
- Page 55: detainees are completely dependent
- Page 59 and 60: people fight and then more people g
- Page 61 and 62: “6(1) In the determination of his
- Page 63 and 64: crime of prostitution. So, they alw
- Page 65 and 66: IX. AN OVERVIEW OF THE ITALIAN LEGA
- Page 67 and 68: consider more than merely whether a
- Page 69 and 70: that “personal liberty is inviola
- Page 71 and 72: 2. LEGAL AID The relationship betwe
- Page 73 and 74: language support in a similar way [
- Page 75 and 76: “Your repatriation does not depen
- Page 77 and 78: XII. CIE, POLITICAL ASYLUM AND INTE
- Page 79 and 80: humane with respect shown for the i
- Page 81 and 82: asylum law 163 . In addition, decis
- Page 83 and 84: administratively entered onto offic
- Page 85 and 86: ● ● ● E.’S STORY (INTERVIEW
- Page 87 and 88: P A R T D . O T H E R M A T T E R S
- Page 89 and 90: 87 | P a g e XIV. CLASSIFYING IDENT
- Page 91 and 92: ● ● ● G.’S STORY (INTERVIEW
- Page 93 and 94: P A R T E : C O N C L U S I O N XV.
- Page 95 and 96: XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. There are endem
- Page 97 and 98: Gratuito patrocinio Gratuito patro
- Page 99 and 100: APPENDIX 3: THE INTERVIEW FORMS INT
- Page 101 and 102: 12. Routine Could you please descri
- Page 103 and 104: If yes, please describe that time a
- Page 105 and 106: □ Intrusive and discomforting tho
agents. All <strong>of</strong> the <strong>CIE</strong> staff are subject to this positive legal obligation because they are either<br />
State authorities (military personnel) or quasi-State authorities (Red Cross) who are<br />
discharging State functions.<br />
55 | P a g e
Change language