A/HRC/4/33/Add.3 page 26 acceptance of private interviews, the Special Rapporteur ended his visit to the facility, at around 8 p.m. after he had inspected the facilities, including various interrogation rooms. From the responses and behaviour of the GID officials, it was apparent to the Special Rapporteur that GID had a strong interest in preventing the detainees from talking to him in private. During the course of the evening up until the next afternoon, on 27 June (approximately 2 p.m.), officials from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs did contact the Special Rapporteur only to reiterate the position of GID (i.e. the concerns for the safety of the Special Rapporteur), saying that they were informed that the Special Rapporteur would not compromise on private interviews, and indicating that the Ministry would continue to seek a solution. 5. The Special Rapporteur recommends that since the head of the anti-terrorism unit, Colonel Ali Birjak, has been clearly identified by a number of former detainees as personally being involved in torture practices, criminal investigations should be initiated against him. II. AL-JAFR CORRECTION AND REHABILITATION CENTRE, AL-JAFR (Visited on 27 June 2006) 6. On 27 June 2006, the Special Rapporteur undertook a visit to Al-Jafr Correction and Rehabilitation Centre. Located approximately 256 km from Amman in Ma’an Governorate, in south central Jordan, the prison, apart from an adjacent military base, is isolated in desert surroundings. Originally built in 1953, it is reported to initially have held political detainees. The prison underwent a number of closures over its history, and according to the prison director, it was most recently closed in November 1999 and its prisoners were transferred to other facilities. Al-Jafr received a fresh intake of inmates in March 2005. The facility covers about 70,400 m2. There are seven dormitory-style quarters holding about 35 to 48 prisoners, each situated in a walled courtyard. In addition, there are about 20 solitary cells. The centre has a capacity of 320 prisoners, and at the time of the visit 204 persons were being held there. According to the prison director, 84 per cent of the prisoners were administrative detainees under the 1954 Crime Prevention Law, and the remainder as spillover from overcrowded prisons. The Special Rapporteur interviewed 16 persons detained in Al-Jafr. 7. General conditions and treatment in detention. In terms of conditions in detention, complaints related primarily to exposure to the harsh desert temperatures and vermin, lack of adequate medical treatment, and isolation. While prisoners are permitted monthly visits, the location makes it difficult for families or even lawyers to visit. 8. With the exception of the four members of Parliament mentioned below, virtually every detainee described the treatment meted out by prison staff in Al-Jafr as humiliating and brutal, and the accounts were consistent throughout. Beatings were reported to be carried out regularly, in plain view of other detainees and staff and in solitary confinement cells as well. Beatings could occur for behavioural infractions, including even for not standing up when an officer came into a cell, or otherwise without provocation. Collective punishments were common if one prisoner had been found to have done something wrong, and there was constant fear of reprisals. The treatment described included, among other things, beatings carried out using electrical cables, tree branches, and water pipes; falaqa; strappado-style hanging, being hung upside down with a stick under the knees in a position called farruj (“grilled chicken”); being hung for extended periods of time outdoors from the wrists tied to metal rings fixed to a wall; being