A/HRC/26/45 on demand; (i) journalists, for their work; (j) practicing a religion not recognized by the State; (k) failed asylum seekers and refugees who are returned to Eritrea; (l) actual or perceived critics of State policies or practice; (m) those arrested on suspicion of having participated in the attempted coup of 21 January 2013 (Forto incident), among others. B. Conditions of detention 83. Detention entails restriction on the right to liberty and freedom of movement, and is permitted by law only in very strict circumstances. Additional safeguards are laid down in article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to protect against arbitrariness and providing for those detained to be able to question the legality of such detention. International law prescribes that persons in detention should continue to enjoy their guaranteed fundamental freedoms and human rights, including their right to human dignity,23 and the detaining authority shall ensure that the needs of detainees in custody are met.24 84. Severe overcrowding in prisons is a major issue that spawns several other problems relating to the health, hygiene and nutrition of those in custody: 80 inmates can be held in an underground cell of 10 m by 15 m, with poor ventilation, no windows or light. The holding cells have no sanitation facilities and prisoners are only allowed out for very short periods to use the toilet. Personal hygiene is a serious concern in such circumstances, with detainees suffering from body lice, scabies or other skin infections, and prone to respiratory complaints or diseases and diarrhoea. Medical facilities are minimal and detainees with chronic health problems do not have easy access the right kind of medication or treatment, thus endangering their lives. Referral to hospitals takes time. 85. Food is of poor nutritional quality and inadequate in quantity, thus exposing those in custody to malnutrition. Meals invariably consist of bread and lentils and access to drinking water is limited. Inmates sleep on the floor without proper bedding. 86. Torture and ill-treatment are prevalent, with prisoners being more vulnerable during the early days in custody, for example, during interrogation and investigation, if any. The Special Rapporteur briefly described methods of torture used, in her previous report.25 87. In its UPR report, Eritrea stated that torture was criminalized in the domestic legal system and that “evidence collected under such event is inadmissible in courts of law”.26 However, in practice, there is no legal recourse nor measures to prevent torture concretely. Furthermore, Eritrea has still not ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which it had undertaken to do during the first UPR cycle. 88. Incommunicado detention and solitary confinement are also prevalent, their nontransparent nature raising many questions, especially with regard to aspects of solitary confinement that are not regulated by law. Isolation can be construed as inhuman or degrading treatment or torture, if a prisoner is held in solitary confinement for an extended period of time.27 Several questions may also be raised in connection with health issues; for example, as to whether a medical examination is carried out before and/or during such 23 24 25 26 27 Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990), General Assembly resolution 45/111, annex. United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1955). See A/HRC/23/53, para. 55. A/HRC/WG.6/18/ERI/1, para. 48. See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 20 (1992) on article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 17