however, they mixed freely with the adult prisoners. The prison has two store rooms for storage of food (millet, sorghum, rice, onions, beans and tomatoes) and related purposes and a kitchen with cooking utensils and an earthenware oven. A tap for water, 6 latrines and a bathroom in the compound were at the disposal of the prisoners. The prison once had 50 ducks, in the words of the Registrar, but food preparation for the inmates had taken care of 45 of them with only 5 left to be seen. Discussion with Prisoners Food Lunch consisting of either beans, rice or millet was always served and sometimes a light meal of porridge was provided in the evening. Quantity, not quality, of the food was a problem. Health The prison had no medicine, but the inmates were afflicted with many diseases like tuberculoses, dysentery and fever. Serious cases were sometimes referred to the hospital. If a prisoner fell ill, the Registrar would go up and down looking for a doctor, and this took 2 days sometimes. They were not taken to hospital regularly. When they were taken they were not sometimes attended to because the hospital claimed it had too many patients. Bathing facility was limited and the sewage was poor. Soap should be supplied more often than the current practice of once a month. Workshop 90% of the prisoners were energetic young men who were idle throughout the day. It must have been worse for juveniles, two of whom claimed to be 13 and 14 respectively. Apart from making rope, they did nothing else. It is noted that rope-making was wide-spread in the prison. They asked for workshops which would occupy them. Remand There were complaints about long remand. Harouna Sissoko, a civil servant, for instance, indicated that he had been on remand for 9 years over an allegation of embezzlement of public funds. Moussa Diara Gregory was aggrieved that he had been on remand since 2 March 1993 without being allowed to see the Police report on his case. Vegetable Garden and Bakery Caritas has constructed an oven for baking bread for the prison. Part of the bread is sold in town, and prisoners can also buy some at half price. With the assistance of Caritas, the prisoners were cultivating a vegetable garden near the bank of the River Senegal. The government has also provided wheelbarrows for the project. A walk to this garden ended the visit to Kayes Prison. Relationship with Warders The warders did not beat them, but one inmate stated that the police had beaten him to extract confession out of him. Bruises on him were consistent with his allegation. A second prisoner said he had been assaulted for two nights by the gendarme. In Djamou (about 45 km from Kayes), a third prisoner narrated how the police threw gas into his face and tortured him. 3rd arrondissement police had brought in 5 persons for non-possession of ID cards. Prisoners were sentenced to 48 hours continuous stay in the punishment cell. Indeed one prisoner stated that when he tried to escape, he was confined to the punishment cell for 12 continuous days. He came out only for bath and toilet. An accident while painting the walls had left one of the prisoners with deep infected wounds. Only alcohol had been applied to it. One prisoner alleged that to get out of prison, the judge had to be bribed. 32 33