Detention of foreign nationals under aliens legislation; (Read full CPT report)
23. The delegation visited, for the first time, the Bělá-Jezová Detention Centre for Foreigners, the only establishment of its kind in the Czech Republic. The Centre was opened in 200611 and is located in a forest, some five kilometres away from the nearest municipality. It comprises three accommodation buildings (A, B and D12) for foreign nationals held under the “open regime” as well as one building (Building 10) for inmates subject to the “strict regime”13. With an official capacity of 273 places, the Centre was accommodating at the time of the visit 36 foreign nationals (including 17 asylum-seekers, two women and one father with two young children).14 The Centre considered immigration detainees as “clients” as they had in principle to pay for their stay. The CPT would like to receive the comments of the Czech authorities regarding the appropriateness of requesting such payment.
24. According to Section 125 of the Law on the Residence of Foreigners, irregular migrants can
be detained for up to 180 days. The detention period can be extended to a maximum of 545 days if a
foreign national obstructs the procedure or has provided false information. Unaccompanied minors
(aged 15 years or more) and families with minors can only be detained for a maximum of 90 days.
The delegation was informed that the average duration of detention in the Centre was approximately 80 days. At the time of the visit, 28 foreign nationals had been held there for less than 60 days, the longest period being six months.
25. The Administration of Refugee Facilities (“ARF”) is responsible for the overall
management of the Centre, while the police secure the perimeter of the Centre, and conduct body
searches of newly-arrived foreign nationals as well as regular searches within the Centre. The police
may intervene inside the Centre in the case of incidents or whenever requested to do so by the ARF.
In addition, the police are responsible for the placement of foreign nationals in the strict regime
unit. For the maintenance of internal order, staff of a private security company were present in the
Centre around the clock, on the basis of a private-law contract with the ARF (see also
paragraph 37).
