circumstances, this kind of situation had been a cause of serious concern to the Subcommittee during the preceding visit. 45.The Subcommittee has been informed of the existence of resolution No. 176 of 10 February 2010, which contains instructions from the Office of the National Police Commander for the establishment of a registration system of the sort recommended by the Subcommittee. As indicated by the Ministry of the Interior and as ascertained by the Subcommittee’s representatives during their visit, however, these instructions have not yet been carried out. The Subcommittee has also been informed that there are plans to computerize these records in the police stations in Asunción. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party implement resolution No. 176 without further delay. It also recommends that, as a minimum, the basic pieces of information recommended by the Subcommittee for inclusion in such registers be incorporated into any plans for computerizing such records. 46.Information on detainees’ rights. The Subcommittee was disappointed to find that the recommended information materials on detainees’ rights, which the State party has reported that it has prepared, were not in evidence in any of the three police stations that were visited. The Subcommittee reiterates its recommendations in this respect. 47.Physical conditions. Conditions in the police holding facilities that were visited remain deplorable; they do not meet the minimum requirements in terms of hygiene, cubic content of air, floor space, lighting or ventilation. Not only have these conditions not improved, but they have actually grown worse since the last visit. The Subcommittee does not deem it necessary to repeat its description of the cells that were visited on this occasion but instead refers the State party to the information provided in the report on its 2009 visit. 48.The only difference between what was observed in March 2009 and what was seen during the September 2010 followup visit that may be worthy of mention is the presence of a bunk bed in the cell at Station No. 1 in San Lorenzo which was not there during the earlier visit. This two-tiered bed was not, however, sufficient for the five detainees present in the cell at the time of the visit. Furthermore, no furnishings, such as chairs or other beds, that would make it more comfortable for persons spending hours or days in police custody were to be found either in that cell or in any of the other cells that were inspected. The Subcommittee recommends that police holding facilities be furnished with a suitable number of beds and/or chairs. 49.The Subcommittee was once again struck by the glaring difference between physical conditions in the police stations and conditions in the holding facilities for detainees within those police stations. In Station No. 3, for example, the Subcommittee’s delegation observed that there was a large, clean, well-ventilated room just a few metres away from the cell which could have been used to house detainees. The Subcommittee reiterates the recommendations it made in its 2009 report concerning physical conditions in the cells located in police stations. 50.Detention for a protracted period of time in police custody. Authorities of the State party have informed the Subcommittee that it remains a common practice in the country to hold detainees in police cells for prolonged periods. Some police stations in Paraguay are obliged, by court order, to hold detainees in pretrial detention for months at a time, even though they do not have the necessary infrastructure, personnel or budget to do so. The Subcommittee condemned this practice in its earlier report and asked that it be discontinued immediately. The Subcommittee reiterates its recommendation and further recommends that the judiciary and the Ministry of the Interior enter into discussions for the purpose of reaching an agreement that will enable them to put an end to this practice. 51.Allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. In their conversations with the Subcommittee’s representatives, detainees said that they had been subjected to torture and to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. One prisoner said that he was handcuffed and then forced to kneel while officers stepped on the handcuffs and hit various parts of his body. The prisoner said that, later, officers took him into the police station bathroom and shoved his head into a urine-filled toilet in order to obtain a confession. Another detainee said that police officers put a wet towel into his mouth, which made him feel that he was suffocating, so that he would say he was guilty. According to information received during the follow-up mission, other techniques of torture, such as the “dry submarine” and squeezing of the testicles, continue to be common. The Subcommittee notes that many of the forms of ill-treatment to which it referred in its earlier report appear to continue to be used during administrative detention. The Subcommittee emphasizes the importance of the recommendations which it made at that time, particularly with respect to the need to provide regular, explicit, unequivocal instruction for all police personnel about the absolute, imperative prohibition of any form of torture or ill-treatment and the need to undertake a prompt and impartial investigation whenever there is reason to believe that an act of torture or ill-treatment has been committed, whether or not a formal complaint has been lodged. 2.Prisons 52.The Subcommittee’s delegation visited the Tacumbú National Prison in Asunción and spoke with its director and with prisoners. At the time of the visit, there were 3,154 inmates in the prison, of whom 2,367 were being held in pretrial detention. 53.The Subcommittee found that some improvements had been made in the prison’s infrastructure: new bathrooms have been built in some blocks, some blocks have been remodelled, and the number of beds has been increased. The Subcommittee is particularly gratified to learn of the demolition of the infamous isolation block known as “Alcatraz” and of the construction of a new isolation block that meets minimum standards of general living conditions, hygiene, natural lighting and ventilation. The Subcommittee also notes that steps have been taken to reduce the number of persons who are not assigned to any block but instead live in the corridors (known as pasilleros, or “corridor people”). The authorities reported that the number of pasilleros has been lowered to 150, although the inmates who were asked about this said that the number was higher (about 250). 54.These relative improvements are greatly overshadowed, however, by the serious problems plaguing Tacumbú National Prison, in particular, and possibly Paraguay’s entire prison system.