CAT/OP/BEN/3 89. The Subcommittee observed for itself that there was a de facto division of the prison into two parts — the big yard and the small yard — which reflected inequalities in the conditions of detention. Being assigned to the buildings on the small yard depended on the prisoners’ financial means and on the payment of fairly large amounts of money. It emerged from various interviews conducted by the Subcommittee that prisoners, on their arrival, were offered a spot in the small yard if they had the means to pay for it. Figures of up to 1 million CFA francs were mentioned. The Subcommittee is of the view that this situation results in a system that differentiates between the rich and the poor and leads to the subservience of the latter, who, housed in the big yard, were providing the prisoners from the small yard with small services, such as the laundering of clothes, for which they received payment. 90. The Subcommittee is concerned that this system of control by inmates appears to have led to institutionalized, systematic and widespread corruption, encouraged by the prison authorities and the seeming result of the State party’s de facto withdrawal.11 91. The Subcommittee calls on the State party to participate more actively in the management of the Cotonou prison in order to regain control of it. Tasks associated with the exercise of official power should be carried out by prison staff. The authorities should ensure that all prisoners are treated on an equal basis and review the differences in the conditions of detention in the big yard and the small yard. The State party should also eradicate corruption by punishing the perpetrators and informing the prisoners and their families of their rights. 2. Complaints system 92. The Subcommittee notes the information provided by the State party in its replies. 12 It notes that it was not informed of the existence of a complaints mechanism in the three prisons it visited. The Subcommittee is also concerned about the lack of registers of complaints in these prisons and the failure to inform some prisoners that they could file a complaint if they were victims of ill-treatment. The Subcommittee notes that Decree No. 73-293 of 15 September 1973 on the administration of prisons contains no explicit provisions on complaints by prisoners. 93. The Subcommittee recommends that the Beninese authorities set up official and effective complaints mechanisms. 13 The prison authorities should systematically inform prisoners of these mechanisms on their arrival. They should also keep a register of complaints in each prison. 3. Parole 94. The Subcommittee notes that parole is regulated by articles to 808 to 812 of the new Code of Criminal Procedure. It was informed by the authorities of the State party that parole had been granted on a number of occasions in 2015. At the Cotonou prison, the authorities reported that some sixty prisoners had been paroled in 2015. However, consultation of the registers of the prisons visited did not enable the Subcommittee to confirm or estimate the number of persons released on parole since the entry into force of the new Code of Criminal Procedure. The Subcommittee received information, corroborated by inmates at the Abomey prison, that parole is granted less regularly and applications for parole are processed slowly. The Subcommittee finds it regrettable that, despite the entry into force of the new Code of Criminal Procedure, the State party has not made more frequent use of parole for prisoners who may be entitled to it. 95. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party take the necessary steps to encourage more frequent use of parole for prisoners who qualify for it. The State party should systematically and regularly assess the situation of prisoners who meet 11 12 13 GE.18-16165 In its seventh annual report (CAT/C/52/2, para. 73), the Subcommittee stated: “Corruption can be broadly understood as the dishonest misuse or abuse of a position of power to secure undue personal gain or advantage, or to secure undue gain or advantage for a third party.” CAT/OP/BEN/1/Add.1, paras. 31–44. Nelson Mandela Rules, rules 54 to 57. 15