Germany: CPT publishes report on periodic visit

last updated Feb 23, 2012

On Wednesday 22 February, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published the report on its visit to Germany in November/December 2010. The report calls upon Germany to end its practice of voluntary surgical castration of sex offenders, calling it “a mutilating, irreversible intervention” and “degrading” and criticises the practice of physical restraint of agitated or violent detainees. It also stated concerns about the lack of effectively implemented differentiation between preventive detention and prison sentences and a shortage of psychological care and therapeutic activities.