Chapter 6 “To the Chief inspector...” Letters received Prison overcrowding "Dear Madam, Since 11 November 2016 the cell … in unit … in X remand prison, by order of the director, has been occupied by 3 prisoners, which is not the norm and illegal. I wrote to the Director who, without informing us, allocated a 3rd prisoner to join us on 22 November 2016, placing us in difficult detention conditions – not least because we do not have much room to be able to move around and eat at the table because of the way the furniture is arranged in the cell. One cupboard for 3 prisoners and the rest of our things in a bag. I hope that you will consider and reply to my letter, yours sincerely." Deteriorated detention conditions "Madam, the Chief Inspector of places of deprivation of liberty, I am writing to ask you to examine my appeal. I had been detained at X remand prison for three months until … 2016, when I was transferred to Y detention centre where I currently remain in detention. I would like to share certain grievances with you about the detention conditions I was subjected to during the abovementioned period. I was assigned to a cell with 3 occupants. The cell must have measured about 10m² for the 3 of us. The cell was equipped with a toilet, was not ventilated or equipped with a door that covered the full surface; in fact, it resembled more a curtain than a door. The detention and hygiene conditions were disgraceful. I was imprisoned in the same cell as an untried person (awaiting sentencing), who was there on the grounds of homicide, when I had already been convicted ... you can imagine the atmosphere when I, a convicted prisoner, find myself with a stranger who risks a thirty-year prison sentence. This person, not wishing to condemn him because it was not his fault, was entirely dependent on and stupefied by medication and psychoactive substances which he was made to take daily to keep him calm and under control. Because of this, he fell asleep twice with a lit cigarette in his mouth which, if it had not been for our vigilance, would have caused a fire in the cell which could have had disastrous consequences. The communal showers were in a dangerous state for our health, because there were visible fungi, mould as well as a non-existent ventilation system, there was absolutely no privacy because the showers did not have doors, and there was no window to let air in. On top of these failings, if an incident were to happen there, there was absolutely no means of warning anyone because this place was located in a dead-end corner. Some folk even went there to smoke cannabis: add that to the humidity and mould and you've got an explosive cocktail! For someone like me who is active and keen to learn more, it must be said that the sports and cultural activities were virtually non-existent, which is not to say off-putting and repetitive. Access to them was very limited and primarily for the same group of people. Access to the library was only allowed on one half day every week – on Friday mornings alternating with the other building, so 1 hour a week; and if, for one reason or another, it was not possible for warders to be on duty, this slot would disappear in favour of another "cause". Because of this, 2 or 3 weeks could go by without any library activity. I have no problem moving straight on to telling you about the laxness, familiarity, complete lack of respect and professionalism (on the part of some and not all) prison warders, who smoked with prisoners (even 124