E/CN.4/2002/77/Add.2 page 24 must immediately go to the place indicated, verify the information and, if necessary, order the release of the person arbitrarily detained. Those responsible for the arbitrary detention must be prosecuted. Other guarantees enshrining universal standards are envisaged. They show that the legislative reforms set in motion by the authorities have - at least on paper - become a reality. 85. This belief is shared by many of the people whom the delegation met. But whereas no one took issue with the underlying principles, there was criticism of the methods adopted by the authorities, including their failure to involve civil society enough in drafting the proposals. For this reason, while welcoming the steps taken by the authorities, the Working Group stresses the need to involve civil society, those working alongside the legal system and everyone else concerned in drafting proposals so as to secure their backing for the venture and guarantee it every chance of success. E. Organization and operation of the prison administration 86. The prison administration is part of the Ministry of the Interior and is managed by specially trained police officers. The 1964 Penitentiary Code lays down the rules governing penitentiaries and defines conditions of detention applicable to all persons deprived of their liberty. It should be noted that only persons given custodial sentences by the courts are held in prisons. Under the Bahraini system, remand prisoners are detained in police stations and foreigners are held in administrative detention at a special unit. However, women in police custody and pre-trial detention are housed in the women’s prison. 1. Police custody and pre-trial detention at police stations 87. As it is the police that handle prosecutions and investigate cases, detainees in police custody and pre-trial detention are held at police stations. The conditions of detention at the police stations which the delegation visited meet international standards. With rare exceptions, the sources questioned by the delegation acknowledged that they had been informed of the grounds for their arrest with reasonable promptitude and had been allowed to communicate with their families. 88. On the other hand, a person being held in police custody is not allowed a lawyer. It is rare for counsel to be present during the investigation, and even in criminal cases counsel is not mandatory until the case comes to trial. One anomaly mentioned by a number of detainees is that interviews with lawyers are not confidential, taking place in the presence of a guard who refuses to leave the room and listens to what is said: this violates international standards. The Working Group urges the authorities to remedy this state of affairs, especially given that, under the planned reform, counsel will be permitted to be present as soon as a person is taken into police custody. 2. Serving of sentences in prisons 89. Male prisoners are divided into two categories. Those serving short-term sentences (less than 12 months) are housed at Manama prison. There were 53 inmates there on the day the