CAT/OP/MNG/1 (d) All interrogations take place in rooms officially designated and properly equipped for that purpose. D. Isolation and disciplinary cells 39. The Subcommittee has a number of concerns about the abuse of disciplinary procedures in pretrial detention facilities and prisons. In some facilities, such as pretrial detention facility No. 461, detainees may be held in an isolation cell for up to three days while a decision on the disciplinary measure to be imposed is being taken. Given that the isolation cells are de facto the same as the disciplinary cells, the result is that detainees may be enduring disciplinary sanctions for longer than the maximum permitted period. In addition, in disciplinary cells, food is only provided once a day and, because mattresses and bedding are only provided at night, detainees have nothing to sit on during the day. There also appears to be no effective means of appealing against the imposition of a disciplinary sanction. 40. The Subcommittee is concerned that disciplinary cell registers indicate that, in some prisons, disciplinary solitary confinement had lasted for up to 45 days by consecutively imposing three instances of the current 15-day maximum period. The new law of July 2017 appears to permit periods of up to 90 consecutive days, without effective appeal. 41. The Subcommittee recommends that measures be put in place to allow detainees to appeal against the imposition of disciplinary sanctions. Isolation cells should only be used when strictly necessary, and time spent in isolation cells should count towards the period of disciplinary sanction. Isolation and disciplinary cells should be properly furnished, including with bedding during the day. Detainees in isolation or disciplinary cells should have the same entitlement to food as other detainees and be able to spend a minimum of one hour per day exercising in appropriate open-air facilities. 42. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that the maximum period of placement in solitary confinement not exceed 15 consecutive days 17 and that such periods must not be imposed consecutively or in rapid succession. V. Police practice and procedure A. Fundamental safeguards during the initial stage of detention 43. The Subcommittee recalls that the Committee against Torture noted that fundamental preventive safeguards were not being enjoyed by all detainees from the outset of their detention (CAT/C/MNG/CO/2, para. 12; and CCPR/C/MNG/CO/6, para. 24 (c)). The Subcommittee observed that persons brought to police stations, especially in remote areas at the soum (county) level, are rarely informed of their rights or told why they have been taken there. 44. Although arrested persons have the right of access to a lawyer, in practice that right is rarely ensured. As a result, questioning routinely occurs without the presence of a lawyer, even if a request for a lawyer has been made. The high number of detainees reported to have waived that right is itself a cause for concern, from a preventive perspective. The Subcommittee was also informed that, even when the detainee is legally represented, the first meeting with the lawyer is often at the court hearing stage. Although legal aid is theoretically available, the systems are ineffective at ensuring that those deprived of liberty have prompt access to effective legal advice. Indeed, the Subcommittee is of the understanding that there are no legal aid lawyers available in some soums. 45. The Subcommittee notes that, in numerous cases, family members were not told by the police that their relative had been arrested. The Subcommittee is concerned that it was 17 The Nelson Mandela Rules, rule 44. 9