(d)Security and control 259.At Cotonou Prison, there were a total of 28 military personnel posted to ensure perimeter security. There were gendarmes at the entry gate and in the outer courtyard overseeing the 85 prisoners in charge of security, who worked in teams of roughly 12 and were distinctively dressed in green overalls. The director explained that they checked the identity of people visiting and exiting and were supposed to prevent escapes. (There had been one escape in January 2007, when a prisoner had been killed by military fire). 260.At Abomey Prison, the delegation observed the perimeter security to be limited (virtually non-existent). At times when the delegation arrived, including during the night, there was nobody at the outer gate and sometimes no guard outside the inner wall. On one occasion (14.40 hours) the delegation arrived to find no guard at the outer gate and no guards visible on duty in the area between the inner and outer walls; the only people in view were a few prisoners chopping wood in the area between the outer and inner walls. It appeared that the external security either did not function properly or did not depend on perimeter guarding but was controlled from within. The delegation had serious reservations about the external security and about the ability of the prison staff to take effective and appropriate action in case of an emergency, such as a fire. 261.At Akpro-Missérété Prison, the director informed the delegation that the Minister of Defence had not, as yet, sent military personnel to assist in maintaining perimeter security. The prison was relying on ten gendarmes to secure the entire prison. Further, as noted above, the SPT is concerned at the lack of awareness and training as to access to the weapons room by those gendarmes, particularly in case of an emergency. 262. The SPT recommends that the external security of the prisons be reviewed in order to ensure that: The perimeter is secured by the prison administration rather than by internal controls exercised by prisoners Effective and appropriate action is possible in the event of an emergency 263.The delegation also observed the system of internal control. This appeared to be operated largely, if not exclusively by prisoners. When a prisoner had a visitor, s/he was called to exit the inner prison, for a visit in the room immediately beyond the inner gate. This room was guarded by gendarmes carrying rifles in Cotonou Prison. Upon the visitor’s arrival, the guards gave the prisoner’s name to a member of the prisoner hierarchy, who had the prisoner delivered from inside the inner prison to the door between the inner and outer prison areas. The leading prisoners assigned to this function knocked on the inner door and called out the name of the prisoner who had been delivered and the door was then briefly opened to allow the prisoner to pass through. The process appeared to work smoothly. However, it was notable that the guards did not operate beyond the door. 264.It was clear that the authorities had ceded control of the prisons to the prisoners. The SPT has the gravest concerns about this situation at Cotonou and Abomey Prison. The SPT considers that the authorities and the prison administration must not abrogate their responsibility for what goes on in prisons, whether it be the provision of basic necessities of life, such as food, drinking water and minimum conditions for health and hygiene or whether it be the imposition of control measures, including restraints or punishments. These matters all belong and must remain with the authorities. The SPT considers that the effective control of any place where persons are deprived of their liberty by public authorities is and must remain the domain of the State. 265. The SPT recommends that the authorities take steps immediately to institute a system whereby they effectively and fully assume control of the prisons in order that they are in a position to discharge properly their obligations for the custody and care for persons deprived of liberty by the State. 8.Activities 266.The prison day at Cotonou Prison was structured around lock-up times; at Cotonou Prison, at 07.00 hours each unit was unlocked briefly in turn for the room search; at 07.30 the doors of all the prisoner accommodation (except for the cell with the prisoners on death sentence) were unlocked for the daily routines to begin. Lock up occurred for most prisoners around 17.30 or 18.00 hours. Therefore, the vast majority of prisoners spent more than twelve hours locked up at night. 267.At Abomey Prison, the same system of lock-up prevailed. The exceptions were those privileged prisoners who held positions entitling them to sleep outside in the yards. 268.The delegation observed a system of free movement during the day within the inner precincts of the prisons for most prisoners. During the day, most prisoners were out in the courtyard going about the business of daily life. This is a potentially positive feature of prison life. The relative autonomy enjoyed by the prisoner population within the inner precinct of the prisons is in principle also positive, provided that there is adequate oversight to prevent abuse. It could allow the time spent in custody to pass less onerously and could provide for the development of constructive activities. As it was, the prison activities centred on the necessities of life – obtaining food and drinking water, obtaining water to wash oneself and one’s clothes, and finding a place to sleep. (a)Activities and education for adult detainees 269.The market place within the prison was a central focus of activity at Cotonou Prison. Here, prisoners were engaged in various activities connected to daily life, including selling food stuffs, preparing food for cooking, cooking, laundering clothes, and making useful items. The director also informed the delegation that detainees had access to various workshops run by NGOs, such as hairdressing courses, but that the workshops are not well attended. He also reported that the library had some 800 books; the delegation briefly saw the library housed in a building near the market used also as a church. It had been refurbished thanks to NGO donations.