A/HRC/44/20 their sentences. Detention beyond the length of a sentence and in defiance of a judicial order is manifestly arbitrary and unlawful under international law. 30 51. OHCHR found that during the period covered by the report, some people had been conditionally released with precautionary measures ordered at the pretrial stage, such as weekly appearances before authorities. They were also prohibited from leaving the country, commenting publicly on their cases or participating in political activities. These measures have been imposed for months or years owing to delays in judicial proceedings. In the case of journalists, these restrictions can considerably affect their ability to work, as illustrated by the case of Luis Carlos Díaz, who was detained on 11 March 2019 for public incitement and released with precautionary measures the day after. At the time of writing of the present report, his preliminary hearing had still not taken place and he was unable to leave the country or to comment on his case publicly, seriously affecting his professional and personal life. C. Right to physical and moral integrity 1. Torture and ill-treatment 52. During the reporting period, OHCHR received allegations of torture and illtreatment. OHCHR observed that individuals deprived of their liberty were interrogated by intelligence services following their arrest, either at the premises of the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence or at non-official and unknown locations. It was mainly during this period of time that victims had reportedly been subjected to ill-treatment and, in some cases, torture. According to accounts gathered by OHCHR, such acts were aimed at intimidating and punishing detainees, extracting confessions or incriminating others through videos or written statements. Reports of physical and psychological torture of military or ex-military personnel were common, while high-profile individuals, such as members of parliament, did not report physical abuse. 53. According to the Government, by May 2020, the Attorney General had carried out 361 investigations for torture and 9,951 investigations for ill-treatment. The investigations resulted in 517 State agents being charged, 401 indicted, 167 deprived of their liberty and 26 convicted of torture and ill-treatment.31 2. Conditions of detention 54. OHCHR conducted 13 visits to 11 penitentiary centres, of which 10 were administered by the Ministry for Penitentiary Services and 1 by the Ministry of Defence. OHCHR interviewed 134 detainees during the visits. OHCHR acknowledges positive cooperation with authorities who granted access to the centres. 55. The Ministry for Penitentiary Services reported that it had reduced the level of violence in the penitentiary system by investing in infrastructure and security, and by taking control of all centres for women and adolescents and of 98 per cent of the centres for men, through a new penitentiary regime. The Ministry had also implemented programmes to provide primary and secondary education (Misiones Robinson and Ribas), to support the family and social environment of inmates through social contributions to families (Plan Chamba), and to address judicial delays when granting benefits to inmates, by offering alternative measures to serving sentences (Plan Cayapa). 56. The Ministry reported that it had been distributing food to 41 penitentiary centres, reaching 39,723 inmates (37,482 men and 2,241 women), on a monthly basis. While the Ministry reported ensuring three meals per day to inmates, OHCHR observed that access to food was limited in the centres it visited. The Ministry reported 1,328 cases of malnutrition of inmates in 2019.32 OHCHR also observed that access to water in the centres was limited 30 31 32 10 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 35 (2014) on liberty and security of person, para. 11. Response from the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the OHCHR questionnaire. Ibid.