CAT/OP/KAZ/1 expectations. In terms of the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, it is problematic that the medical staff is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 88. The Subcommittee recommends that medical care and assistance be guaranteed and accessible to all detained persons upon their request and that medical personnel not be under the same authority as the investigating, prosecuting and detaining ministry. 6. Pretrial detention facilities under the National Security Committee 89. The delegation found that the Almaty pretrial detention facility that is under the authority of the National Security Committee was used as an institution of initial detention since, according to the registers, most detainees were brought prior to the authorization of an arrest. The Committee is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and detaining suspects, which does not allow for any outside controls. 90. Contacts with the outside world are more restricted in these pretrial detention facilities than in other facilities. Many inmates have no information about their relatives, and may not even know whether their relatives know where they are. Medical screening is insufficient. The delegation observed one person with clearly visible injuries resulting from detention in pretrial detention facility 1 in Almaty that were not documented in either the medical register or on the medical card. 91. The Subcommittee recommends that the detaining authority be different from the prosecuting authority and that detention conditions comply with international standards. Medical screening should be rendered more effective and be carried out by independent medical staff. B. Prison colonies 92. According to official figures, at the time of the visit only 33 per cent of all those convicted are sentenced to deprivation of liberty, down from 42 per cent, the rate recorded prior to the legal reform in 2015. About 40 per cent of all convicts are sentenced to restrictions on freedom and fines are used much more widely. Incarceration rates are currently about 210 per 100,000 population; according to the State party, this translates to a ranking of 62nd worldwide, 21 and has had a positive impact on prison conditions. Government officials also announced that two colonies had been closed and there were plans to close seven more. 93. The objectives laid down by the Criminal Execution Code (arts. 4 and 7) are in compliance with applicable international norms, including the Nelson Mandela Rules. However, the Subcommittee noted that, with the exception of those at the juvenile colony in Almaty, officials generally perceived their role as ensuring the smooth functioning of the system and staff security, rather than rehabilitating and reintegrating prisoners. Regime, “conditions” and daily activities 1. 94. Generally, colonies have different security regimes to which convicts are assigned by court decision, depending on the gravity of the crime committed and previous sentences. Assignment to security regimes does not take into account the risks posed by a given convict. In addition to the security levels, a complex system of “conditions” – privileged, soft, common, strict and special – is in place, 22 which imposes different levels of restrictions, including in terms of access to work, and the number of parcels, phone calls and family visits a detainee can receive. Changes in a detainee’s level of conditions are decided by internal commissions.23 95. All detainees are shaved at regular intervals. They are required to shave their beards, although no razors are provided. All detainees, except those in minimum security colonies, 21 22 23 As reported by the State party during the initial briefing. Criminal Execution Code, chap. 18. Ibid., art. 103. 15