FACILITIES FOR PLACEMENT OF DETAINEES WITHIN THE STRUCTURES OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR - The condition of the system for 24-hour detention in the police department remained unsatisfactory in 2019. Recurring problems pertaining to overcrowdedness, poor material and living conditions, lack of service spaces, lack of access to ventilation and natural light still persist. In 2019, the NPM inspected all premises for detainees within the structures of Sofia Metropolitan Directorate of Interior (SMDI) (9 sites). The NPM found recurring weaknesses in the system for 24-hour detention: overcrowdedness, lack of service spaces, lack of access to ventilation and natural light, missing information about the rights of detainees. The NPM inspection found that the material and living conditions in the inspected regional departments (except for 01 and 07 Regional Departments of SMDI) fail to comply with and do not meet the requirements set out in Instruction No. 8121з-78 of 24 January 2015 on the procedure for detention, equipment of the premises for placement of detainees and the internal order within the Ministry of Interior (hereinafter referred to as the Instruction). Most detention premises have poor hygiene, are not well maintained and are equipped with beds, a table and a chair (02, 03, 08 Regional Departments of SMDI). Extremely bad are the conditions in the premises for detention of men in 04 and 05 Regional Departments of SMDI, where wooden beds and benches are installed instead of beds. Another finding of the NPM concerns the insufficient number of existing premises and equipment for accommodation of detainees in terms of overcrowdedness of the regional department (e.g. 04 and 05 Regional Departments of SMDI). Access to ventilation and natural light is not provided at the required level (e.g. 02, 03, 04, 05, 08 Regional Departments of SMDI). The NPM found premises for detention in 04 and 05 Regional Departments of SMDI with no access to natural light, which is a serious violation of the rights of detainees. Therefore, the NPM recommends these premises to be immediately closed. In addition, the premises for detention of women and minors in 05 Regional Departments of SMDI is in close proximity and directly visible to a reception room for citizens allowing for a degrading treatment of detainees. There is no central heating in the facility for detention of men in 05 Regional Department of SMDI although it is located on the ground floor of the building and the exterior space around the building is not cleaned which seriously inhibits access of daylight. Some of the premises in 04 and 05 of Regional Departments of SMDI do not meet the requirements of Article 58 of the Instruction for minimum space of 4 sq. m. per detainee. The insufficient number of beds allows for the degrading treatment of detainees. When the capacity of the premises is full, detainees are fixed with handcuffs to benches, and in some cases four detainees use three beds (05 and 06 Regional Departments of SMDI). The premises for detention of minors do not meet the provisions of Article 73 of the Instruction, either. In most regional departments they are the same as those provided for detention of men (e.g. 02, 03, 08 Regional Departments of SMDI). The premises are not appropriate for the intended purpose, they do not have mattings and alarm buttons. In 05 Regional Department of SMDI there is one room for detention of women and minors. A room for protective custody is separated in 09 Regional Department of SMDI. In all inspected regional departments but 07 and 09 Regional Departments of SMDI detainees use one common sanitary unit. In 07 Regional Department of SMDI there is a sanitary unit in every room and the conditions can be defined as very good. 27