United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners – "Mandela Rules" passed

On 22 May 2015, the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (24th Session) adopted the 22 May 2015 – United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules).  These rules–known as the “Mandela Rules”–provide much needed clarity to the treatment of prisoners worldwide, including pretrial detainees. In a recent press release, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime encouraged states to adopt these minimum standards in their domestic legislation: Countries are encouraged to reflect the “Mandela Rules” in their national legislation so that prison administrators can apply them in their daily work. The NGO, Penal Reform, published a version of the Mandela Rules showing their substantive revisions. The Mandela Rules are reproduced below.  Section II.C specifically addresses rights unique to pretrial detainees.       I. Rules of general application Basic principles Rule 1 All prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings. No prisoner shall be subjected to, and all prisoners shall be protected from, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, for which no circumstances whatsoever may be invoked as a justification. The safety and security of prisoners, staff, service providers and visitors shall be ensured at all times. Rule 2 1. The present rules shall be applied impartially. There shall be no discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or any other status. The religious beliefs and moral precepts of prisoners shall be respected. 2. In order for the principle of non-discrimination to be put into practice,...

US Senate Approves Measure Advocating for Release of US Citizens

On Monday, the United States Senate voted 90-0 to pass a measure (S.Con.Res.16) to encourage the Islamic Republic of Iran to “immediately release Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati, and Jason Rezaian, and cooperate with the United States Government to locate and return Robert Levinson.” Although Abedini and Hekmati have been charged and sentenced (wrongfully, according to the resolution’s sponsor, Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and the State Department), Rezaian (and possibly Levinson) is currently being held in pretrial detention. As detailed in the resolution, Rezaian was “unjustly detained in 2014 and has been held without trial.” The Senate passed the resolution following tense negotiations surrounding amendments to legislation providing for Congressional review of an eventual Obama Administration deal with Iran on its nuclear program. Though not included as a part of that legislation, the resolution passed Monday evening sends a strong signal to the Iranian Government that it must respect the rights of US citizens in its prisons. Should Abedini, Hekmati, and Rezaian not be released prior to the conclusion of a nuclear deal, it will be interesting to determine how the US Congress responds....

Iran Bill Amendments to Address Americans Detained in Iran

On Tuesday, the US Senate will commence what may prove to be a monumental foreign policy debate as it considers legislation to provide for Congressional review and oversight of agreements relating to Iran’s nuclear program. Among a number of amendments already filed are several intended to promote the release of US citizens currently detained in Iran. While it is unclear whether such an amendment will be included in the bill — which represents a hard-fought, delicate compromise between the Administration and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress — the amendments will at least serve to shed light on the issue of pretrial detention in Iran, and hopefully, will contribute to the potential release of Americans unlawfully detained there. One of those American detainees, Jason Rezaian, is a Washington Post reporter who has been in pretrial detention for the last 9 months. The Iranian Revolutionary Court has never publicly disclosed the charges against him, and there has yet to be a date set for trial. He has reportedly been denied treatment and was only granted access to his attorney in the last week. At the end of his speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this weekend, President Obama asserted that his Administration would not rest until Mr. Rezaian is freed to return home. Regardless of the fate of well-intentioned Senate amendments advocating for the release of Americans detained in Iran, we are encouraged by the attention and commitment offered by both branches of government, and we hope they continue to work together to secure Mr. Rezaian’s...

Russia: A Complex Web of Pretrial Detention

Russia’s a tough country to be detained in.  Pretrial detention is common.  And pretrial rights and remedies are on the books.  Limits exist.  But a massive question of enforcement remains.  The European Court of Human Rights has a large number of cases finding the Russian government violated basic human rights obligations by detaining persons awaiting trial for excessively long periods of time and in poor conditions.  We’ve laid out the letter of the law in our most recent Country Profile for Russia. Our experience in Russia has been that the authorities will find hooks within the law to keep persons detained.  If the maximum detention period is met, additional charges are lodged to “start” a “new” detention period.  The diplomatic relationship between Russia and the United States makes pressing for pretrial detention rights difficult – we’ve heard that on the State Department’s list of 100 priority items with Russia, pretrial detention rights are...

Traveling Abroad for Spring Break? Who to call in an emergency

The U.S. State Department has developed a webpage for students traveling abroad.  It contains an emergency list of contacts with all “911” numbers around the world.  Check out the country where you’ll be traveling and make note of the emergency number.  Also keep on hand the U.S. State Department American Citizen Services numbers for your destination country.  Look up travel warnings and contact details here. The LA Times today summarized recent worldwide travel warnings and advice for students traveling abroad.  Good stuff!  Stay safe and travel...