the Mengistu regime in 1991. Today, the region has a total of 23 prisons – 13 zonal, 5 Special Woredas and 5 Woredas. The 23 prisons have a total of 12,738 inmates. Table 2 shows the prisoners’ classification in the SNNP Region. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Category Death Sentence Life Imprisonment More than 4 imprisonment Awaiting Sentence Awaiting trial Children Total Male years Female Total 11 339 3,248 18 95 11 357 3,345 2,701 2,867 84 12,199 89 116 74 539 2,790 2,983 158 12,738 Table 3 shows the human resources capacity in the prison sector in the SNNP Region. Military Civilian Total Male 650 80 730 Female 87 44 131 Total 737 124 861 The Special Rapporteur visited two prisons, one police station and one prison farm in the region. These include the Awasa Prison, the Arba Minch Prison, the Awasa Woreda Police Station and the Arba Minch Prison Farm. a) The Awasa Prison The Awasa prison is a regional prison located on the outskirts of the capital of the SNNP Region – Awasa, some 400 kilometers from Addis Ababa. The original capacity of the prison is estimated at 450 but it is holding 979 inmates – more than double its capacity. The prison has a small clinic with a non-resident nurse. There is also a small library which is almost empty safe for newspapers and a few books, a small manual wood workshop and a weaving section. There are classrooms for formal education and most of the teachers are inmates themselves. The prison has 12 cells, 9 for males and 3 for female inmates. The female section is completely separated from the male and is guarded by female guards. However, the female section does not have any recreational facilities like the male section which has a volley ball court and some indoor games. With support from the Catholic Mission in Awasa, there are plans to construct four new blocks of 5m x 7m in size. 15 Report of the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia 15 – 29 March 2004