Placement in solitary confinement is the most severe disciplinary sanction in prison.
The procedure and conditions, including the violation for which it may be applied, must be clearly stated in law. Although it is not entirely forbidden under human rights, the use of solitary confinement as a punishment is discouraged, even if it is imposed for a very short time.
Reasons
You may only be placed in solitary confinement for a serious breach of the internal rules of the prison. Solitary confinement can only be imposed if the other sanctions are not sufficient, considering the gravity of the violation and the personality of the prisoner responsible for the violation.
What human rights violation may there be?
Right to a fair trial
Your placement in solitary confinement is comparable, in its seriousness, to a deprivation of liberty. Therefore, you are entitled to the guarantee of a right to a fair trial in disciplinary proceedings involving solitary confinement. Depending on the nature of the violation, a failure to observe the procedure for applying solitary confinement may lead to a violation of your right to a fair trial.
example If you are placed in solitary confinement without an opportunity to defend yourself and present your arguments, your right to a fair trial will be violated.
Private and family life
Undue placement in solitary confinement can also violate your right to a private and family life.
example If you have been prevented from meeting your family members or writing to your friends as a result of unlawful placement in solitary confinement, it may violate your right to family or private life.
Prohibition against inhumane or degrading treatment
If placement in solitary confinement has caused you severe mental or physical suffering, it may lead to a violation of your right not to be treated in an inhumane or degrading way. However, for it to be considered inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture, the effect of the solitary confinement on your physical and mental condition has to be sufficiently severe. Read more about how to evaluate whether your rights have been violated.
example France was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights regarding the conditions of detention in solitary confinement, because the prisoner’s cell was only 4,15 m², it was very dirty and in bad shape, there was no window, and the electric light was not sufficient to be able to read or write.
Read more about solitary confinement in the following sections: