A/HRC/43/75 B. Arbitrary detention, deprivation of liberty, torture and ill-treatment 56. During the period under review, an estimated 8,813 individuals were held in 28 official prisons under the authority of the Ministry of Justice, of whom an estimated 60 per cent were in pretrial detention. In total, 278 women were detained, including 184 nonLibyans, and 109 children were held in prisons in the custody of the Judicial Police. Others were detained in facilities nominally under the control of the Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of Defence, or in facilities directly operated by armed groups. Those held still had little opportunity to challenge the legality of their detention or to seek redress for violations suffered. 57. In relation to detention facilities under the control of the Ministry of the Interior, UNSMIL/OHCHR continued to receive credible reports of arbitrary or unlawful detention, torture, enforced disappearances, overcrowded cells lacking sanitation and safe drinking water, medical neglect, and the denial of visits from families and lawyers by those in charge of prisons and other places of deprivation of liberty. 58. In 2019, UNSMIL and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) expanded tripartite cooperation with Libya to support the prison reform efforts of the Ministry of Justice and the Judicial Police. In August, the Ministry of Justice reopened Derna and Ain Zara A prisons with a view to addressing overcrowding, and established a new prison in Mellitah, Tripoli. The Ministry also established a clinic in Al Jdaida prison to improve the health care of prisoners, although the clinic was still not operational by the end of 2019. 59. UNSMIL/OHCHR continued to highlight the need to end arbitrary and prolonged pretrial detention and the importance of ensuring that all prisons operated by the Ministry of Justice should be under the exclusive control of professional and trained members of the Judicial Police, operating under the Ministry of Justice. It held regular meetings with the officials from the Ministry to follow up on the screening process and the transfer of inmates to official prisons, and to strengthen the supervision of official prisons by the Ministry. 60. UNSMIL/OHCHR also followed up on the judicial screening of detainees after the issuance by the Presidential Council of decrees 1301 and 1304, in September 2018. The decrees established a committee to screen detainees at Mitiga prison and conditions for the release of certain detainees held beyond the period set down by law, respectively. Moreover, decree 129 of the Supreme Judicial Council established a committee to review the cases of arbitrary detention in Mitiga prison. The committees commenced the review of detainees in the prison, which was believed to hold more than 3,600 detained persons. According to the investigations office of the Office of the Prosecutor General, an estimated 1,200 detainees were screened between September 2018 and December 2019, with around 500 released and others transferred to Al Jdaida prison during the same period. UNSMIL/OHCHR continued to encourage the Office of the Prosecutor General to provide regular public updates on progress in the screening process. On 11 December 2019, the Office reported that the committee had almost concluded its work and would submit a final report to the Government by the end of 2019. The final report still had been submitted at the time of wrting. 61. UNSMIL/OHCHR continued to document accounts of civilians subjected to prolonged arbitrary and unlawful detention in Gernada and Kuweifiya prisons, under the control of the Libyan National Army in eastern Libya, where family visits were denied. Those concerned included medical professionals, civil society activists and religious leaders. %D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84% D9%82%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%A9-247246312319968/. 11