The Special Rapporteur inspects an Accounting class in the Addis Ababa Prison b) The Kaliti Prison The Kaliti Prison situated some 11 Kilometers from the capital Addis Ababa is also a federal prison with about 479 inmates, the majority of them top military officials of the former regime charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. Some of the prisoners have been in detention for more than 12 years and most have been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. In a closed meeting with the Special Rapporteur, they claim they are political prisoners and are being victimised by the new regime. They also claim the majority of those detained across the country are persons opposed to the new regime and range from peasant farmers to top politicians of the Derg regime. They requested the Special Rapporteur to intervene on their behalf to appeal for pardon from the state. The prison has a total of 11 cells – 10 for the 471 men and 1 for the 8 women detain there. The average age of the prisoners is above 50. The oldest prisoner claims to be about 110 years. He is half blind and walks with the help of others. There is a small clinic in the prison that administers first aid treatment. There is no resident doctor or nurse. There is also a computer training centre and a small metal workshop. There is no school for formal education. Since most of the prisoners are over fifty years they may not be interested in classroom activities or metal or woodwork training. 12 Report of the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia 15 – 29 March 2004