A/HRC/13/39/Add.2 number of allegations of torture and ill-treatment in police stations that could be proven beyond reasonable doubt by forensic examinations and other means of evidence.37 38. The Special Rapporteur was particularly concerned that he found evidence of regular beatings of minors in police custody and as a form of punishment at juvenile detention centres, in particular at Las Piedras and Las Puertas. He also received consistent information that during riots and rebellions, beatings and collective punishments were fairly common at all the juvenile facilities he visited. 39. In addition, the Special Rapporteur received numerous credible allegations regarding ill-treatment as a form of punishment and excessive use of force in prisons. These include several cases of beatings by police guards at COMCAR and Libertad (see paragraphs 112– 143 and 60–94 of the appendix respectively). 40. In these cases, the Special Rapporteur appealed to the authorities to ensure that the allegations were effectively addressed. B. Conditions of detention 1. Police stations 41. The conditions of detention in some of the police stations visited were poor. The cells were dark, humid and filthy, and some were in a deplorable state. Some persons, including minors, were detained in cells that were full of excrement, since the detainees were not allowed to go to the toilet. However, the Special Rapporteur was encouraged to see that detainees are only held at police stations for short periods, and are presented before a judge within 24 or at most 48 hours. 42. For the most part, the Special Rapporteur found that the registries in police stations were adequate, although in some police stations registration in the computer system was delayed. However, at one police station, the Special Rapporteur was shown several registries which all included different data. Furthermore, he found that the mandatory medical examination of suspects below the age of 18 years was carried out before the person was brought to the police station and before the interrogation took place, undermining the very purpose of the examination. 2. Prisons 43. The penitentiary system in Uruguay is under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, therefore police officers serve as prison guards. Nine prisons in the Montevideo metropolitan area are within the jurisdiction of the National Directorate for Prisons, while the rest are subordinate to the departmental police command structures. 44. The conditions of detention in prisons have been steadily worsening in the past few years and overcrowding was a major problem in most of the prisons.38 In this regard, the Parliamentary Commissioner has repeatedly raised his concerns39 and the Government itself acknowledged the alarming conditions of detention in 2005 when it declared a state of humanitarian emergency in the country’s prisons.40 Nevertheless, only a few of the 37 38 39 40 10 See appendix. Comisionado Parlamentario, Informes de Actuación y Evaluación del Sistema Penitenciaro, 2008, p. 81. Comisionado Parlamentario, Informes de Actuación y Evaluación del Sistema Penitenciaro, 2005– 2006, 2007 and 2008. Presidential inauguration address, see www.presidencia.gub.uy/_web/pages/vazquez06.htm. GE.09-17655