5.2. Conducting the visits 5.2.3. Interviews Pursuant to Section 39/B(3)c) of the Ombudsman Act, the NPM shall “hear any person present on the site, including the personnel of the authority under inspection and any persons deprived of their liberty”. By virtue of Article 20(e) of the OPCAT, the NPMs shall have the liberty to choose “the persons they want to interview”. The management and the personnel of the place of detention inspected as well as their supervisors shall cooperate with the visiting delegation and its members.87 The members of the visiting delegation conduct, on the basis of pre-compiled questionnaires, interviews with the head and the personnel of the place of detention, as well as any other persons staying on the premises at the time of the visit. Pursuant to Section 39/B(4) of the Ombudsman Act, in the hearing, “apart from the person who is given a hearing, no other person may participate, unless the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights authorized their participation”. The visiting delegations aim at conducting tête-à-têtes, but, occasionally, group hearings are conducted as well. Interviews are usually conducted with no witnesses present; in exceptional cases, members of the security personnel may be present outside hearing distance. The only exception to that was the visit made to Unit I of the Budapest Remand Prison. Here, despite the multiple warnings of the visiting delegation, one of the custodial officers stayed within hearing distance and was taking notes throughout the interviews conducted with the detainees and the members of the staff. In my report on this visit, I asked the Director General of the Hungarian Prison Service to call the attention of the personnel under his command to comply fully with their obligations with a view to the enforcement of my rights and those of my authorised colleagues88 during the performance of the NPM’s tasks, as stipulated by Section 39/B(3)c) of the Ombudsman Act and Section 39/B(4) of the Ombudsman Act.89 The persons deprived of their liberty, unlike the head and the personnel of the place of detention concerned, are not compelled to cooperate with the visiting delegation. In the case of persons deprived of their liberty who, due to their age, state of health, or any other circumstance, are not able or willing to give an account of their detention-related experiences, the visiting delegation inspects the conditions of their placement. The objective of the members of the visiting delegation is to meet, if possible, all persons deprived of their liberty staying on the premises at the time of the visit. 87 88 89 See Sections 25(1) and 39/D(1) of the Ombudsman Act. See Section 39/D(1) of the Ombudsman Act. See in details in Report No. AJB-501/2018. 47