FACTSHEET deposit or post a bond as guarantee for appearance at trial are considered as wellrooted. These criteria of course are often difficult to meet for homeless, drug users, (…or) the chronically unemployed (…) who thus find themselves in detention before and pending trial when less socially disadvantaged persons can prepare their defence at liberty. ” Corrupt and malfunctioning criminal “ justice systems are a root cause of torture and ill- treatment of detainees, many of whom spend years in pre-trial detention on the basis of forced confessions, often for periods far exceeding their likely sentence. ” (Special Rapporteur on Torture)49 (UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention)48 Women often end up in pre-trial detention due to a lack of gender-specific alternatives, hindering equal access to non-custodial measures and making them more vulnerable to imprisonment. Usually the same criteria are applied to men and women in decisions relating to pre-trial detention. Even where non-custodial alternatives to pre-trial detention are in place, they tend not to be gender-sensitive. For example, where bail requires regular reporting to authorities, transport to the respective police station or court must be affordable and feasible for women, and not jeopardise their caretaking responsibilities. What could monitoring bodies check? • Are disaggregated statistics (gender, nationality etc) available in order to assess discriminatory application of pre-trial detention in comparison to bail and other alternatives? • Are the available non-custodial alternatives to pre-trial detention gender-sensitive and age-appropriate? • How much is the surety for bail and how is it calculated? Is the cost of a surety proportional to the alleged offence and does it avoid discrimination based on social status (wealth)? In many countries, arrest or freedom are dependent on a person’s ability to pay bribes. Access to rights, such as notifying the family of the arrest or communicating with a lawyer, may also depend on bribe money. This risk is exacerbated if arrest and detention are not registered promptly and accurately. Example: Indonesia Abdul was 22 when he was arrested and detained in 2008 for buying a packet of marijuana. They stripped him and began beating him, offering to stop (…) if he paid them $1,000. He was held without charge for the next 50 days, during which he was told that for another $10,000 he could obtain release. Abdul’s mother had to pay the police $500 to prevent them from inflating the charge against her son. She then had to pay the prosecutors $2,000 to have them reduce their sentence request. She also had to pay court officials a $200 appointment fee so that her son could meet with the judge.50 • What are the alternatives for children (up to age 18)? Are they child-sensitive and which actors are involved in decision-taking? 3.11.  Inadequate safeguards against corruption The pre-trial phase of the criminal justice process is also particularly prone to corruption, as this stage of a criminal procedure is characterised by less scrutiny and a particular power imbalance between the arrestee and law enforcement officials. What could monitoring bodies check? • What safeguards are in place to prevent corruption amongst police officers, prison staff and prison administrations? • What are the consequences for law enforcement officials who withhold prisoners’ rights in order to extort bribes from prisoners or their families? • Does the prevailing system of salaries and wages make it more likely that officers may be susceptible to bribes? • Do detainees have to pay to have access to services that should be provided free of charge (eg. healthcare)? 49. Statement by Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on Torture at the 18th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 24 April 2009, Vienna. Available at: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/un-human-rights-rapporteur-denounces-torture.html <accessed 30 September 2013> 50. Open Society Justice Initiative, Pretrial Detention and Corruption from The Global Campaign for Pre-trial Justice, October 2012. Penal Reform International | Pre-trial detention: Addressing risk factors to prevent torture and ill-treatment |9