The condition of prisons in France and Spain are harsh. To BPP is added that they are being moved and subject to violence. The present dispersion policy being applied to BPP is tantamount to isolating them from their relatives and friends. French prisons are in better physical condition than the Spanish but overcrowded, the price of food is extremely high, medical care is deficient, and sanitary conditions fall far below the standard of European Prison Rules. Living conditions in Spanish jails are inhuman and degrading.
Prisons are old, overcrowded, lack ventilation, and food and hygiene are poor.
Basque prisoners are subject to long periods of confinement and physical violence. Different penitenciary policies have been applied to BPP since 1978. In 1983 they were transferred to the new maximum security prisons in Carabanchel and Alcala Meco in Madrid, and Herrera de la Mancha in Ciudad Real. They were held under military supervision and constant surveillance by means of closed circuit cameras. This was an extremely harsh period for Basque prisoners.