CAT/OP/BEN/3 serious offences in particular — but that the assistance was often very limited. The Subcommittee was also informed that there was a legal aid scheme organized by the bar association, but, according to the members of the bar with whom it spoke, provision of legal aid is neither widespread nor consistent. The adoption of a law on free legal aid would facilitate the work of lawyers and the provision of such aid. 9 83. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party adopt a law or decree setting up a system of free legal aid for all and that it provide a suitable budget for that system. The authorities should consider measures to increase the number of lawyers trained in the country each year and to encourage them to establish themselves in the country’s different regions. 4. Use of pretrial detention 84. The new Code of Criminal Procedure (arts. 145, 147 and 149) regulates pretrial detention, which may last no more than 18 months for less serious offences and no more than 24 months for more serious offences. The Subcommittee is concerned that, according to a variety of sources and interviews, prisoners had spent years in detention without trial. Inmates at the Abomey and Cotonou prisons informed the Subcommittee that bail was set too high for most to be able to afford release on bail when it was granted, meaning that they had to remain in detention. In its replies to the Subcommittee, the State party had indicated that an individual’s financial situation was not taken into account in the setting of bail.10 85. The Subcommittee is alarmed by what seems to be the use of pretrial detention as a rule rather than as an exception. It is particularly troubled by reports that, in some situations, people had spent more time in pretrial detention than they would have for the sentences they faced. The Subcommittee is of the view that the systematic use of pretrial detention, in addition to being a major cause of overcrowding, is a sign of a dysfunctional justice system. 86. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party: (a) avoid the systematic use of pretrial detention; (b) grant, as far as possible, requests for release pending trial for persons who post bail or are otherwise entitled to release, while considering the economic status of the accused when setting bail; (c) immediately release all persons who have been detained awaiting trial for longer than the longest sentence imposable for the offence of which they stand accused; and (d) ensure that the judicial authorities fully implement the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure on the maximum length of pretrial detention. VII. Prison policy A. Situation of persons deprived of their liberty 1. Control by inmates and inequality 87. The Subcommittee considered it important to address in particular the system of control by inmates in the Cotonou prison. 88. The reduction of overcrowding in the Cotonou prison seems to have opened the way for a system of control by inmates that has led to considerable inequality, in the form of privileges based on an individual’s economic status. The prisoners themselves were heavily involved in the internal administration of the prison, each building and division of which had its own internal structure. The “bosses” had certain prerogatives, including the right to discipline other prisoners, each building had its own internal rules and the prisoners were also involved in security and provided information to the prison authorities. The Subcommittee received information that the “bosses” were designated by the authorities, not elected by the prisoners as the prison authorities had stated. 9 10 14 See the fifth annual report of the Subcommittee (CAT/C/48/3, paras. 77–82) on the correlation between legal aid, a system of public defence and prevention of torture. CAT/OP/BEN/1/Add.1, para. 62. GE.18-16165