The police have created facilities for detaining people, although they aren't proper police cells and thus no legal rules apply to them, according to Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová. She described them as parts of a corridor separated with bars. There's usually only a chair, some windows and some straps for restraining a person. She said that these premises are illegal but the police are using them on a daily basis. She has submitted a report to Parliament asking for their immediate abrogation. In 2014, the ombudswoman decided to take a closer look at conditions in the police facilities. In 19 facilities her team discovered that police used such types of illegal cells. Dubovcová also registered four complaints from people who were held in such conditions. It has also been proven by a recent case that a man was almost beaten to death in one of these facilities. He was left there, beaten, for more than 24 hours without access to water or a toilet, without any possibility to call for help. "That's an absolutely unacceptable thing in a democratic and lawful state," stated Dubovcová.
Areas that aren't proper cells but are used by the police to detain people can be found at almost every district police station, said Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer-SD) in response to criticism by Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová. "These are areas for detaining on a temporary basis individuals that are dangerous to their environment and could injure people, injure themselves or are considered an escape risk. They are classic cells, although without the standards seen in proper cells for preliminary detainment," said the minister. He adds that the dispute with Dubovcová over the matter goes back several years. His press department said that the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment objected to the manner in which detainment areas are used, but not to their existence per se. "Due to the lack of space and inadequate equipment, most of the areas in question were found to be inappropriate by the committee for detainment lasting longer than a few hours," said the press department. According to Kaliňák, both the recommendations of the committee and the ombudswoman will be accommodated.
