A Council of Europe report found no special precautions were taken by the police to safeguard a vulnerable suspect called in for questioning and who, according to a magisterial inquiry, had died after jumping off the bastions while in custody.
The report refers to the death of Nicholas Azzopardi in 2008. He had been called in for questioning on allegations that he abused his daughter.
According to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), which visited Malta in May 2008, police officers had to take into account all factors that could lead to increased vulnerability of suspects under their authority.
The committee said in Mr Azzopardi’s case he was vulnerable because of the type of charges brought against him.
“It does not appear from the custody register consulted by the delegation during its visit to the Floriana police headquarters lock-up that additional precautions were taken as regards Nicholas Azzopardi,” the report said.
It also noted that from discussions with police officers the delegation found no specific directive or regulation governing the approach to be followed when dealing with vulnerable suspects was in force at the time of the incident.
“Scientific studies have shown that persons charged with crimes which are generally considered by society to carry a particular stigma are more likely to harm themselves and, in particular, to commit suicide during the initial period of their deprivation of liberty. They, therefore, require extra monitoring and, if necessary, medico-psycho-social intervention,” the report states.
The CPT recommended that the Maltese authorities draw up a specific directive on how to deal with vulnerable suspects in police custody.
In its reply, attached to the report, the government fully agreed that special attention should be given to vulnerable suspects and pledged to find “the best way how to implement its recommendation for a specific directive focusing on vulnerable suspects”.
The government also noted the treatment of vulnerable suspects was addressed in one of the “commentaries in the code of police ethics”. Mr Azzopardi had been called in for questioning on April 8 and kept at the police headquarters for 27 hours. He was seriously injured after jumping off the bastion while being escorted in the police yard. The 38-year-old man did not die immediately and after regaining consciousness alleged he had been beaten at police HQ and thrown over the wall.
Mr Azzopardi died in hospital on April 22 and a magisterial inquiry – published in August of 2008 – found no evidence to support his allegations. On the contrary, the magistrate concluded that evidence corroborated the police version of events.
The CPT delegation had met Mr Azzopardi’s father at his request on the first day of its visit to Malta.
The Council of Europe report, released yesterday, detailed the findings of inspections carried out by the CPT delegation that visited, among other locations, the police HQ, the Corradino Correctional Facility and immigrant detention centres.
The delegation was disappointed that 13 years after the committee first recommended suspects interrogated by the police should be given a form in different languages outlining their rights, the proposal had until then not been implemented.
Replying to the CPT’s concern, the government said it supported the introduction of a form setting out the rights of persons in police custody but, although “action was being taken” on the matter, it is unclear whether today, three years on, the form is actually being handed out to suspects.
The report also expressed concern at the use of taser guns by the police and called for proper guidelines on their use.
According to the government, guidelines were issued in September 2008 and January 2009. The guidelines, which are internal police documents normally not made public, were attached to its reply.
On the Corradino Correctional Facility, the Council of Europe delegation noted that this was headed by an acting director, a situation that had not yet changed.
It pointed out that the number of qualified and trained prison staff was too low for the number of inmates, which was “prejudicial for the security” of both staff and prisoners.
The CPT commented on what it described as “informal power structures” that were given “free rein” to develop, placing numerous inmates in a submissive position in “gang-type practices”. This situation, the committee added, allowed a considerable amount of drug trafficking to take place within the prison as formal disciplinary systems collapsed.
Reacting, the government insisted it tolerated no sort of power structure, whether informal or otherwise. “There are no gang-type practices, unless the association of two or three inmates to commit such an offence is considered as such. Furthermore, the prison authorities consider that, at the moment, drug abuse and drug-trafficking, while effectively present within CCF, are relatively contained,” the government said.
The Council of Europe report and the government’s reply can be accessed at www.cpt.coe.int.