167.The delegation visited Maafushi prison and the Malé Remand Centre, the latter also being referred to in the Maldives as Malé prison/jail, both operating under the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS). The delegation understood that the Maafushi prison is the only official prison in the Maldives designated to accommodate sentenced prisoners, the Malé Remand Centre being a temporary holding facility which will be closed upon opening of the planned new prisons. At the time of the visit, persons serving their sentences and persons sentenced to banishment until they could be sent to the island were held in that facility. In addition, the delegation visited two prisons which were under construction, one in Malé and one in Hithadhoo. 168.In the Maldives, there are no specific prison facilities for children under 18 years of age who are serving their sentences. From discussions with the authorities the delegation understood, that instead of prison, children sentenced to deprivation of liberty are confined to house arrest. The SPT takes note of the information provided by the Minister of Home Affairs, according to which the authorities were planning to open a prison for children under 18 years of age. The SPT requests to be informed on the opening of this prison for children. Furthermore, the SPT requests detailed information on the facilities for boys and girls in the establishment. 2. Inclusion of time spent in pretrial detention in sentence 169.Many detainees told the delegation that they spent a long time on remand because they could not afford the bail. However, as this pretrial period is not subtracted from the sentence it increases the total length of time to be served; this may contribute to a perception of inequities in the current system. Moreover, such practice adds to the strain and overcrowding of the prison facilities. 170. The SPT requests information on whether, with the reform of the criminal justice system, the Governments has planned to introduce any changes in the policy relating to the inclusion of time spent on remand in sentence calculation. 3. Women in prisons 171.Women serving their sentences were held in a separate unit at Maafushi prison (unit 5, consisting of three sub-units. F1, F2 and F3). The delegation was informed that usually female detainees were guarded by male staff, as there were not enough female prison staff. Disciplinary measures were also carried out by male staff. 172.Almost all of the female prisoners interviewed by the delegation said that they felt insecure in their dormitories, since male detainees could easily access them. They cited as an example one incident where two male prisoners had escaped from the male unit and freely visited the female part of the prison, where they were later escorted out by the officers of the Emergency Support Group (ESG). 173.In SPT’s view, this suggests that efforts are required to ensure that an appropriate complement of women staff is available in all prisons holding women, and that the female unit is completely separated from the units for men. In discussions with the Director of DPRS, the delegation was informed that a new prison building for women was already finished, but that temporarily foreign prisoners were held there. By a note verbale of 22 June 2008 the authorities informed the SPT that a separate secure prison called “Women’s Jail” was opened in the Maafushi Jail Compound on 13th December 2007 and that 16 female officers were trained to take care of the 51 female prisoners held in that facility at the time the note verbale was sent. According to the note, there are three female officers on duty at all times, and apart from very special circumstances, male officers are not allowed to enter these premises. Even in these circumstances a female officer would accompany the male officer. The SPT notes this positive development and recommends that the authorities ensure that the whole of the premises allocated for women is entirely separate from those allocated for men. Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure an adequate level of female staffing in those premises day and night. 174.The female prisoners interviewed informed the delegation that they had very limited access to activities, for example only two out of 40 women currently held in sub-unit F2 had access to work (cleaning), and that the contract had to be renewed every six months. A positive aspect mentioned by the women was that, since October 2007, they were offered the possibility to take classes in English, maths, art, local language (up to 6th grade) and that they could move freely inside the female unit from 06.00 a.m. to 06.00 p.m. 175.In Maafushi Prison, the delegation observed that no female medical staff were working there on a permanent basis, but a female doctor visited the establishment once a month. As women prisoners could not be examined by the male prison doctor, this situation meant in practice that they had to wait, sometimes for weeks, to be transferred to Malé for a medical examination. The SPT recommends a more frequent presence of a female doctor in the Maafushi prison to ensure access of female prisoners to a doctor when their health condition so requires. 4. Foreign nationals in prison or held in remand custody 176.The delegation noted that the already high number of imprisoned persons was further increased by the presence of foreign nationals sentenced or waiting to be sentenced in the Maldives. In the interviews with these persons, the delegation heard numerous allegations of discrimination which included, for example, not having adequate facilities to prepare their cases, not having access to interpretation, and that notification of the embassy or consulate of the their respective countries of origin about their imprisonment was often delayed. Furthermore, the delegation heard allegations that foreign prisoners were not granted the same privileges in terms of contacts with family members, and that they were deprived of access to outside exercise. They also complained of discrimination as to access to a doctor and medical care, and as to distribution of food. 177.The SPT wishes to emphasize that it is one of the fundamental principles of treatment of prisoners that there be no discrimination on the basis of, among other, national origin. The SPT recommends that the relevant authorities ensure that prisoners and detainees of foreign nationality are treated without discrimination and that all basic safeguards apply