CAT/OP/ESP/1 searches involving full nudity on some occasions. The Subcommittee is also concerned that both Organic Act No. 1/1979 and Royal Decree No. 190/1996, by which the Prison Regulations were established, do not set a time limit on placement in the closed regime, which essentially means that it can be renewed indefinitely. 2 The Subcommittee received complaints from a number of detainees held under the closed regime about physical illtreatment and the lack of adequate medical attention; for instance, one detainee claimed to have been tied up on several occasions and to have been attended to by the doctor through a window. The closed-regime detainees also claimed that they went for indefinite periods without talking to anyone. One detainee said that he had spent 8 months without seeing anyone aside from the guards, since he always went out into the courtyard alone and did not receive visits because his family lived in another city. 29. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party review its use of the closed regime with a view to setting a time limit on its application and ensuring that it cannot be extended indefinitely. It also recommends that the relevant rules be amended to ensure that persons subject to the closed regime receive appropriate medical attention and have access to group activities and common areas, including the library. F. Detecting torture and ill-treatment 30. Persons deprived of their liberty in some centres claimed that they had been subjected to physical ill-treatment, such as being kicked or hit in the face, especially at the time of arrest, and to psychological ill-treatment, including insults. The Subcommittee heard, on multiple occasions, claims of ill-treatment at the time of arrest. In addition, it was informed of difficulties in filing complaints or grievances and in regard to the procedure for investigating cases and punishing those responsible. 31. In the Puerto I and Puerto III prisons, the Subcommittee heard numerous claims of physical and verbal abuse being committed by prison personnel. Some detainees reported having been hit with wooden batons, struck in the face or kicked and, on occasion, tied up in isolation units. In both prisons, the detainees expressed a lack of trust in the prison staff, who sometimes threatened to report them for disciplinary action. 32. Following the Subcommittee’s visit, the State party provided it with copies of 23 judicial decisions handed down in the past 10 years, of which only 2 were convictions in torture cases (Criminal Code, art. 174) involving a total of 4 defendants. In most of the other cases, the officials were convicted of the infliction of psychological duress, as covered in article 175 of the Criminal Code, which provides for lesser penalties than article 174. The Subcommittee notes with concern that there have been few instances in which people have been convicted of torture; this is a cause of concern especially in the light of decisions of the Constitutional Court highlighting failings in the manner in which complaints of torture are investigated.3 33. In most of the facilities it visited, the Subcommittee observed a lack of adequate mechanisms for the submission of requests or complaints, including complaints of torture or ill-treatment, as required under rules 56 and 57 of the Nelson Mandela Rules. The Subcommittee is concerned that access to means of making complaints to prison authorities, judicial officials, the Ombudsman’s Office or other authorities is not ensured. In some cases, the Subcommittee was informed that prison personnel were aware of the content of complaints despite their being in sealed envelopes. It was also informed that communications, including complaints and requests, had to be in unsealed envelopes if they were being filed by persons convicted of terrorism charges. In all cases, it observed that persons deprived of their liberty fear reprisals. 2 3 GE.19-17184 The Organic Act provides that inmates who are sent to these centres are to remain there until such time as the reasons or circumstances that motivated their admission have ceased to exist or have lessened in severity. The Prison Regulations establish that placement in a closed regime should be reviewed at least every three months, but does not set a ceiling on extensions. For example, Constitutional Court decisions 144/2016 of 31 October 2016, 130/2016 of 15 August 2016 and 39/2017 of 27 May 2017. 7