Anti-torture Committee Publishes Report On Greenland
In a new report the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) examined the conditions of detention, regime and treatment of persons accommodated in the closed unit (Unit A) of the new prison in Nuuk (Ny Anstalt).
During its ad hoc visit to Greenland (Denmark), from 14 to 16 January 2025, the delegation received no allegations of physical ill-treatment of prisoners by staff at Nuuk Prison. On the contrary, the atmosphere seemed to be quite relaxed and some prisoners spoke positively about particular members of custodial staff.
While the material conditions in Unit A of Nuuk Prison were overall excellent, due to overcrowding, five of the single cells had to be converted to double occupancy, which reduced the available living space for prisoners placed in those cells. Furthermore, overcrowding had obliged the prison’s management to place some sentenced prisoners in the same section as remand prisoners (resulting in restricting the sentenced inmates’ access to the telephone) as well as accommodating male prisoners in the same section as female inmates, which restricted access to the communal area for both. Considering the situation observed at Nuuk Prison, the CPT recommended that the Danish authorities increase the range of, and the recourse to, alternative measures and sanctions in Greenland.
Brought into service in 2019, the Nuuk Prison it is the only establishment in Greenland which has a closed unit. Previously, persons from Greenland serving a sentence in closed conditions had to do so in Denmark. (visited by the CPT in 2008). The opening of the Nuuk Prison enables Greenlandic prisoners to be held closer to their homes and in a familiar linguistic and cultural environment. Most of the prisoners concerned are serving indeterminate prison sentences (forvarignsdom) for serious offences.
The CPT and Denmark
https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/anti-torture-committee-publishes-report-on-greenland-denmark-