CAT/OP/MKD/1 35. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that the basic needs of all detainees are met by management in all places of deprivation of liberty and that clear and transparent rules are established on the provision of privileges, on a nondiscriminatory basis. It recommends that measures be taken to put an end to the illicit trafficking of drugs and alcohol, including the adequate payment of prison staff, and that all cases of corruption are promptly and effectively investigated, and the staff involved are sanctioned. D. Remand detention 36. The Subcommittee is seriously concerned about the situation of those held on remand. In virtually all the facilities it visited, conditions on remand, amounted to inhuman treatment, undermined the presumption of innocence and encouraged a confession culture.2 In Skopje prison, where some cells were overcrowded, the delegation observed no running water; an unacceptably high level of humidity; crumbling walls; little light and ventilation; dirty mattresses and bed linen; insect infestations; food stored in the open; limited access to laundry facilities; lack of hygiene; makeshift showers assembled by detainees owing to the limited shower facilities provided; and no dining area, obliging detainees to eat in their cells, including some on their beds. Similar conditions were found in Bitola and Prilep prisons and the size of the cells there (individual and double cells of 1.92m x 2m and triple cells of 3.1m x 1.9m), whether they housed one, two or three detainees, were such that they should not be used for detention purposes at all. Evidencing a pattern noted in all places of detention, most detainees had supplies of food and personal items brought in by their families. 37. The Subcommittee observed that remand prisoners often suffered a regime more onerous and in significantly worse conditions than prisoners who had been sentenced. It is concerned that such conditions of detention are compounded by apparently prolonged periods of pretrial detention and a 23-hour regime (only one hour of outdoor activity), contrary to the Law on Execution of Sanctions, 2006, which provides that prisoners should be offered “at least two hours daily outside the closed premises”. In the Subcommittee’s view, that is akin to solitary confinement and highly conducive to severe mental stress. In at least one prison, basic hygiene, such as shaving, also had to take place during that one hour spent out of the cells. 38. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party: (a) Immediately take the remand cells in Bitola and Prilep, described above, out of use and stop using the remand cells in Skopje to house detainees in their current state; (b) Ensure that those held on remand are held in conditions of detention and treated in a manner commensurate with their status as unconvicted detainees and in line with the presumption of innocence; (c) Ensure that in all places of deprivation of liberty, detainees are provided with their basic needs, including adequate food, water and toiletries; (d) Ensure that detainees are not obliged to take care of basic hygiene, such as shaving, during their time outside their cells; (e) Cease to subject defendants to pretrial detention as a general practice, and consider alternatives (see paras. 30–31 above). 39. A further concern of the Subcommittee is the manner in which some remand prisoners are transported to court. Some detainees complained that they were transported in armoured vehicles and other inappropriate forms of transport, with their hands handcuffed behind their backs, for unreasonable periods of time, often without reasonable accommodation given to disabled detainees, amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment. 2 The remand section in the new Kumanovo prison was better in terms of material conditions. 9