A/HRC/38/50 47. Detained children are particularly vulnerable in any detention system and are therefore in need of enhanced protection and care, as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The detention of children is a highly abnormal situation and begs the question: while children should not be detained, save in exceptional circumstances, what measures exist in Eritrean criminal justice system detention centres to ensure that children are protected from abuse during arbitrary detention? 48. The challenging environment in Eritrean detention centres is particularly harsh for elderly people, as the centres are ill-equipped to meet the sometimes complex needs of elderly detainees. Appropriate health care remains the most important specific need of elderly people in detention. It is virtually impossible to provide a timely response to illnesses prevalent among the elderly prison population in the harsh environment of Eritrean prisons. As the commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea has found, “detainees on the brink of death” were often handed into the care of their families or placed under house arrest in the expectation that their death was highly likely to occur quickly, and possibly as a way to avoid being blamed for it.4 49. Women’s experience of the criminal justice system, including imprisonment, is substantially different from men’s. The arrangements under which women are held should therefore be designed to meet their specific needs, while ensuring that bias is eliminated at every level. 50. International law requires that all persons deprived of their liberty be treated with humanity and respect for their inherent dignity. Furthermore, pretrial detention should be used as a measure of last resort, to be employed only under certain well-defined conditions. For example, it is used when there is a risk that a suspect might fail to appear for trial or might interfere with witnesses, tamper with evidence or any other trial-related processes or commit further offences and there is no other way that the risk can be addressed save detention. 2. Death in custody 51. The deplorable conditions in the congested detention centres of Eritrea exacerbate the vulnerability of detainees and have proved to be death traps for many. When somebody is taken into custody, that person is in the care of the State, which means that the State has a duty of care towards that person. Therefore, when death occurs as a tragic consequence of being incarcerated, the State has failed in its duty of care. The number of Eritreans who have died in custody over the years is unknown. No explanation is provided to family members and no inquest is carried out into the circumstances of deaths in custody. At times, family members are not informed about the death of their loved ones while in custody and find out through informal channels. 52. Habtemichael Mekonen was 77 years old when he died at Mai Serwa prison, on the outskirts of Asmara, on 6 March 2018. A Jehovah’s Witness for more than 55 years, he was imprisoned in July 2008 because of his religious beliefs. He refused to renounce his faith for almost ten years. The suspected cause of his death is kidney failure. 53. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been persecuted since 1993 because of their political neutrality and conscientious objection to military service. President Afwerki revoked their Eritrean citizenship in October 1994. 54. On 3 March 2018, the family of Musa Mohammed Nur were informed that the respected elder, then 93 years of age, had died while in custody. He had been arbitrarily arrested and detained for almost four months. Musa Mohammed Nur was not charged or tried before a court of law. Reportedly, Musa Mohammed Nur died on 1 March, and his body was taken to a government hospital in Asmara. The family was requested to collect the body only two days later, with no explanation provided regarding the cause and circumstances of his death. 55. In February 2008, Taha Mohammed Nur, the younger brother of Musa Mohammed Nur and co-founder of the Eritrean Liberation Front, died in custody. He had been detained 4 Ibid., para. 832. 9