E/CN.4/1999/63/Add.2 page 21 people are convicted for their titles'”; “the most serious thing is that judges do not require proof of what the repenter has said”. This last criticism was heard over and over. 105. Other abuses also occurred: (a) many testimonies given during the time the Act was in force continue to be invoked informally; (b) DINCOTE continues to interrogate repenters; (c) the arrest warrants continue to be valid (see para. 166). 106. Another serious criticism is that repenters are not allowed to be cross-examined during trial. 107. Legislative Decree No. 901 of 1998, which uses the term “cooperation” rather than the term “repentance”, has re-established certain benefits to “combat crime, thereby facilitating the cooperation of the persons involved”. IV. PRISON REGIME FOR PERSONS CONVICTED OF TERRORIST OFFENCES AND TREASON 108. Although material prison conditions are not directly within the Working Group's mandate, the Group will inevitably take note of them when visiting a country, as it did in Peru. In Peru, there are 89 prisons with a population of 24,408 inmates, of whom 13 per cent are on trial for or have been convicted of the offences of terrorism or treason; 91.8 per cent are men and 8.2 per cent women. 109. The prisons are administered by the National Prisons Institute of the Ministry of Justice, which is also being reorganized. Prisons for terrorist prisoners are within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. 110. The Ombudsman said that security is more important than treatment in prisons, “despite the fact that, in accordance with article 139, paragraph 22, of the Constitution of Peru, the basic objective of penitentiary regimes is re-education, rehabilitation and reintegration into society”. 111. Persons accused of terrorism and treason are separated from those accused or convicted of ordinary offences. The former are separated politically: members of Shining Path, members of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the “independents”, who include those who do not belong to these movements and those who no longer belong to these movements, particularly the repenters. 112. In the maximum security prisons, the regime applicable to prisoners held for terrorist-related offences and treason, the living conditions and the system of visits are very harsh, although improvements are being made. Prisoners are confined to their cells and are allowed no visits during the first year. Later, they are subjected to forced labour and are allowed only one visit a month for one hour by their three closest family members. This regime is now weekly, but for those who are imprisoned in towns other than where their family lives, such improvements are largely academic. 113. In Picsi Prison, there were 1,053 inmates, of whom 327 were being held for terrorism. They included 104 “repenters” (99 sentenced and 5 on trial).