A/HRC/19/72 torture or inhuman and degrading treatment were pointed out during the visits. Prisoners have access to legal services. 71. However, in Korhogo former president Laurent Gbagbo, who was in a physically weakened state, complained that he was unable to communicate with his family and friends and that it was impossible to exercise in the prison courtyard. Two days before the expert’s arrival Laurent Gbagbo had been taken to the Korhogo hospital for an X-ray of his right arm. He also said that a team of doctors sent by the Government had visited him to assess his overall state of health. 72. In Odienné, Ms. Simone Gbagbo acknowledged that her conditions of detention were generally satisfactory. She seemed in good shape despite her diabetes and the lack of appropriate treatment. While she had no contact with her spouse or family, she had access to her legal defence team. She requested that her personal physician, who had been imprisoned without charge, be freed. 73. The independent expert is concerned at the conditions of detention of 27 prisoners, including 23 high-ranking military officials and 4 civilians, who are being held at the Compagnie territoriale de Korhogo in a cell measuring approximately 5m², in unsanitary conditions, without medical care or visits, and who are sometimes deprived of water and electricity for two-week periods. 74. In Boundiali, of the 25 high-ranking individuals initially detained, 15 had been released pending trial. A number of prisoners, such as those in Katiola, say they were mistreated during their arrest by FRCI members and were seriously injured without receiving the necessary treatment. 75. Most of the high-ranking and military officials with whom the independent expert met are charged with undermining State authority, failure to obey instructions, illegal arrests and detentions, killings, misuse of public funds, arms trafficking, illegal possession and sale of arms and munitions, concealment of corpses, and rapes, tribalism and xenophobia. They claim that the accusations against them are false and complain that their property has been plundered and, in most cases, their assets frozen. They said that they were receiving medical care as needed. They would nevertheless like to have more medical care adapted to their specific medical needs. They receive visits, albeit irregularly, from their immediate families and their siblings and parents. E. Economic, social and cultural rights 76. The independent expert observed that the country’s economy is disintegrating because of the post-election crisis and the loss of means of production and subsistence stemming from mass violence and destruction. Supply chains, the banking system and commercial activity have been severely disrupted. As a result, the majority of the population is suffering from the disintegration of the national and local economies and is sinking ever deeper into poverty and precariousness. 77. The independent expert received information on the extortion and harassment to which economic actors were subjected by members of FRCI and unidentified armed groups. This scourge also contributes to rising food prices, putting more pressure on a population that is already severely affected by the post-election crisis. He observed that the Government had begun dismantling unofficial checkpoints throughout the country. 78. The school year started, albeit haltingly, on 24 October 2011 in Côte d’Ivoire, but many students had difficulty returning to school after the post-election violence that had disrupted classes for several months in a number of schools. The post-election crisis had caused the departure of students, teachers and school authorities in some regions, the 14 GE.12-10060