Example: From the interview with a detainee: “My wife said that some staff members demand that she give money to them for a visit”.53 iii. Right to receive parcels and care packages International Standard In accordance with the Standard Minimum Rules, prisoners may have their food procured at their own expense from the outside or through their family or friends.54 In-country Legislation The Law on the Procedure of the Detention enshrines the right of suspected and accused persons to receive parcels and care packages.55 This rule is also stipulated by the Internal Regulations.56 The law does not limit the number of parcels that shall weigh as specified by the postal rules. The quantities of care packages are not limited either, but their cumulative weight shall not exceed 100 kg per month. No restrictions on the weight of packages for juveniles, ill or pregnant women, or women having children living with them shall be allowed.57 In accordance with the procedure of receiving packages and parcels, those shall be received based on an application made in two copies in line with the established form. All parcels shall be subject to search to be conducted by a commission consisting of at least two members of IAB staff. A corresponding record (act) of search shall be made to specify: names and a list of things and food products, their external features and quality, and what exactly was withdrawn or put in storage. The record shall be signed by all commission members, announced to a prisoner against his signature, and attached to his personal file.58 According to the reply of the KR Interior Ministry (of July 19, 2011 No. 11/893), “persons placed in the country’s IAB TDFs … are allowed to receive parcels without any restriction on their quantity. Care packages and food products from family are received seven days a week.” It was reaffirmed in the course of the monitoring that the IAB TDF detainees are able to receive care packages seven days a week. However, during interviews with detainees, the observers received complaints regarding receiving food products not in full. The detainees believe that TDF staff members take some part of packages away. Most of complaints of this kind were received from the Moscow District IAB TDF. Example: From the interview with a detainee: “Care packages do not reach us. We receive notes from our families with a list of things and products they put into the packages. However, the personnel take all good-to-eat products away. We all have the same problem here”. After visiting the Moscow District IAB TDF, the observers asked the head of the institution to tighten control over the procedure of delivering food products to the detainees. Panfilov District IAB TDF can be used as a positive example. The head of the institution took an initiative to introduce a registration book for all care packages brought by prisoners’ families. A date of receipt of a package, as well as a list of all things and products brought are registered in the book. This is clearly worthy of respect. It is desirable for the rest of the IAB TDFs facing a poor situation of delivery of care packages to prisoners to adopt this practice. 53 54 55 57 58 56 Monitoring Report No. 8/6/З/1.4. Standard minimum rules. Rule 87. Law on the procedure of the detention. Art. 16. Internal regulations. Par. 3.1. Internal regulations, par. 4.26. Internal Regulations, par. 4.29. 28