A/HRC/29/49 64. In addition to the case mentioned above that is currently before the Abidjan assize court, dozens of civilians and military personnel are being held in pretrial detention in connection with offences committed during the 2010 electoral crisis. They have been awaiting trial for some time. A list of names drawn up by a group of wives of the detainees arrested during the post-electoral crisis includes 441 persons, of whom 329 are civilians and 112 are military personnel. The majority are imprisoned in the Abidjan Detention and Correction Centre, while others are being held in the Abidjan Military Detention Centre or in regional prisons. Some of the detainees were arrested in 2011 and others later, between 2012 and 2014. 65. The Independent Expert would like to remind the Ivorian authorities of their obligation, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to bring all detainees to trial as promptly as possible and to provisionally release those who do not need to be detained pending trial. In that regard, the Independent Expert welcomes the provisional release of 47 defendants, including some of the 83 standing trial in the Abidjan assize court. The unfreezing of a number of bank accounts so that their beneficiaries can use them to support themselves and their families is another commendable initiative. These measures have a calming effect on social tensions despite the fact that the judicial process is still ongoing. 66. It was noted that time limits for holding suspects in police custody prior to trial are not always respected and the relevant penalties provided by law are not applied. It is important to highlight that the length of police custody must be respected and suspects must be brought before a court within the time limit specified by law. The presence of a lawyer to assist suspects is also vital to minimize the risk of abuse. 67. An example is that of the attack on the Akouédo military camp in Abidjan on the night of 17–18 September 2014, which resulted in the deaths of four members of FRCI and one attacker and left several persons injured, including two UNOCI soldiers. Following the attack, 16 persons were arrested. Twelve of them are being held at the Abidjan Detention and Correction Centre, and the remaining four, two of whom are civilians, were detained for more than a month at a military camp in Abidjan run by an ex-comzone, before being released on 14 November 2014. It seems that their arrest and detention in locations that did not comply with international standards were not subject to judicial review. 68. Furthermore, one of these persons reported to UNOCI that he had been tortured and that traces of violence remained visible on his body. Some detainees complained about the time they spent in the National Surveillance Directorate (DST), the legality of which is contested. However, on the whole, there has been an improvement in respecting the time limits for suspects being detained on DST premises. The public prosecution service and the judges concerned must apply the law by carefully fulfilling their duties to supervise and monitor investigations and prosecutions conducted by the criminal police (Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 13). C. Prison 69. During his mission, the Independent Expert had the opportunity to visit the Abidjan Detention and Correction Centre and the Abidjan Military Detention Centre. He also met with Ms. Gbagbo whilst she was under house arrest. The country’s prisons are a clear reflection of the damage caused to infrastructure by two decades of conflict. 70. Both detention centres are overcrowded. While the Abidjan Detention and Correction Centre has a capacity of 1,500 detainees, it houses triple that number, that is, 4,561 detainees. The Abidjan Military Detention Centre, which housed 64 military detainees and one civilian, only has the capacity to hold a third of that number in relatively GE.15-08296 13