1. PRISON MANAGEMENT Prisoners must be made aware that they have the right to access the files pertaining to them during detention and upon release. Access must be allowed without discrimination, including to those who are illiterate and those who cannot understand the language or are otherwise unable to read and comprehend the file. Access could also be provided through a legal representative. 48 In order to facilitate prisoners’ access to the records pertaining to them, all prisons should be equipped with a photocopier. 49 Redactions of information in a prisoner file in the course of granting access to records are permissible if necessary to protect other individuals who may be named in the file, for example from incident reports or intelligence received from other prisoners. Redactions may also be necessary for information affecting the security of the facility or to secure the conduct of investigations. 50 Prisoners are entitled to receive copies of their files upon release. This can be important for ongoing legal proceedings, for continuity of medical treatment or to demonstrate that they completed particular educational or vocational training courses. Some prisoners might need copies of their files so that they can locate their family members after release. 51 Prisoners may want copies of their files on release so that they can follow up on outstanding requests and complaints, including complaints of torture and other ill‑treatment. In such cases, former prisoners will also require access to their medical files. 52 Internal inspectors and external monitoring bodies should also have access to prisoner files, but are required to respect the confidentiality of the information included in them.20 1 47 20. For NPMs, see: Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), Article 20 (b), which requires they have “access to all information referring to the treatment of those persons as well as their conditions of detention”, and Article 21(2), relating to confidential information collected by the NPM (“[n]o personal data shall be published without the express consent of the person concerned.”), General Assembly resolution A/RES/57/199, adopted on 22 June 2006. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules 17