IPRT believes in the principle of ‘imprisonment as punishment’: that it is the sentence of deprivation of liberty in itself that is the core punitive sanction. IPRT’s position is that conditions and treatment while in prison should not be used as additional punishment.
Accordingly, we believe that while restrictions on the freedom of movement are necessarily introduced while in prison, prisoners should retain all other rights to the greatest possible degree while serving their sentences.
In particular, IPRT believes that prisoners have the right to be treated with dignity and respect for their rights; they have the right to safety and security of the person, the right to be treated humanely and be free from torture, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment.
In our work, the IPRT is committed to ensuring that the rights of prisoners are respected and that the Irish penal policy is based on the implementation of international human rights standards.