This file is a mirror of EUSKAL HERRIA JOURNAL by Basque Red Net.

International Prison Watch (OIP) 1997 Reports

The International Prison Watch (OIP) presented its 1997 annual report on jail conditions in 42 countries last June in Lyon, France. OIP reports on the critical conditions of Spanish and French jails and makes special mention of the "Basque political prisoners." During the presentation of the report to the international press, IOP delegate Bernard Bolze said the worst jail conditions within the European Union are found in Spain where Basque political detainees are ill-treated.

OIP 1997 Report on SPAIN (in French)

OIP 1997 Report on FRANCE (extraits, in French)

Another OIP Report on the treatment of patients, legislative provisions, and health-care service states that medical care in Spanish prisons "is reported almost unanimously to be highly inadequate." According to the IOP report "Basque prisoners no longer have access to health care outside the prison - despite the legislative provisions - since the introduction of the policy of dispersion. They therefore depend exclusively on the health care provided by the prison administration." The OIP report is included in the European Summary Document (Edition 2 - 20 August 1996) for European action for the treatment and early release of prisoners in the advanced stage of an incurable disease.

The International Prison Watch (OIP) is a non-governmental organization with UN status.