Article 15 Freedom from torture
Solitary confinement of prisoners with psychosocial disabilities (in response to Paras. 135-138）
The State Report failed to address issues facing Persons with mental disabilities who are incarcerated, especially those who are placed in solitary confinement. There are many cases where persons with mental disabilities were placed in solitary confinement during their incarceration that resulted in causing further harm. This was highlighted in a report from the Control Yuan that gave a case example: Lin Weixiao, a prisoner in the Taipei Prison, administered by the Correctional Service Department of Ministry of Justice, died on December 1 2014 after being tied up in the prison corridors with metal chains for several hours. Family found several letters begging for help in his belongings, raising suspicion that he was subjected to sexual and physical abuse by his cellmate.
The “Study of National Solitary Confinement, their Numbers and Reasons” report published by the Correctional Service Department showed that apart from solitary confinement mandated in law, reasons for prisoners entering into solitary confinement includes ‘violating prison rules’, ‘acts that negatively impact on other prisoners’, ‘serious impact on the group discipline’, and ‘others’. In the Tainan Remand Centre, two prisoners were put in solitary confinement because they had ‘gender identity issues and not suitable to be in the normal prison population, which was a blatant breach of the gender equality principles. Prison authorities also place prisoners in prolonged and unreasonable solitary confinement, sometimes over one year. In Green Island Prison, a prisoner was put in solitary confinement for 153 months (12 years 9 months). Several international conventions place a prohibition on solitary confinement on grounds of its deteriorating impact on a person’s mental health, but this was not mentioned in the State Report, indicating a lack of understanding or willful disregard by the Correctional Service Department.
Although the justification and the execution of solitary confinement has been clearly stipulated in Articles 14(2), 15, and 16 of the “Prison Act”, as well as Article 14 of the ‘Detention Act”. In practice, prison officials often use solitary confinement as a form of punishment and a method to maintain order in prison. More alarmingly, prison officials often use solitary confinement as a passive way of dealing with prisoners who have mental illness or other special needs without actively managing these needs properly.
The Correctional Service Department should implement a comprehensive auditing mechanism to ensure the lawfulness and appropriateness of solitary confinement being used in prisons around the country. The Department should implement an absolute prohibition on prisoners with mental illness being placed in solitary confinement. Prisons and remand centers should implement mental and physical health checkup to all new prisoners. In accordance to Article 14, Paragraph 2 of the CRPD, Persons with disabilities should receive reasonable accommodation that is appropriate to their specific need with consultation with relevant health care providers. Prisons and remand centers should also ensure all prisoners receive periodic physical and mental health checkups.