the treatment of prisoners by prison staf – or by fellow inmates at the instigation of staf – at Correctional Colony No. 81 in Stryzhavka. During its previous visit to this establishment in December 2012, the CPT had found that the ill-treatment of inmates was common practice. However, the delegation did come across a few instances of alleged ill-treatment of inmates by staf and/or other prisoners in that colony and in some pre-trial establishments (SIZOs) visited. The situation observed at Prison No. 3 in Krivyi Rih was of grave concern. The delegation heard numerous allegations and gathered other evidence that the establishment’s staf used a group of inmates to physically ill-treat other prisoners. The purpose of this ill-treatment was apparently not only to maintain strict order and discipline, but also to obtain from the inmates concerned confessions to (additional) crimes they were suspected of having committed before imprisonment. This led the Committee to conclude that changes in the manner in which prisoners are treated should remain one of the highest priorities for the Ukrainian prosecuting and prison authorities. As regards the long-standing issue of overcrowding in SIZOs, a major decrease in the number of inmates was observed, mostly as a result of the entry into force of the new Code of Criminal Procedure and a wider use of alternatives to imprisonment. However, localised overcrowding seen in all the SIZOs visited was a clear reminder that additional eforts should be pursued in this area. Further, the Committee noted that no decisive action had been taken to upgrade material conditions in most of the SIZOs visited or to introduce programmes of out-of-cell activities for adult remand prisoners. In the CPT’s view, the cumulative efect of General Report of the CPT, 2013-2014 ► Page 46 these conditions and restrictions could well be considered, for many remand prisoners, as a form of inhuman and degrading treatment. In its report, the Committee makes a series of recommendations to address this issue. The situation of male prisoners facing/ sentenced to life imprisonment, which was the subject of severe criticism in the past, remained basically unchanged. The CPT calls upon the Ukrainian authorities to review once more the legislation and practice as regards this category of inmate, in the light of its previous recommendations. 94. When setting in motion, in March 2013, the procedure under Article 10, paragraph 2, of the Convention establishing the CPT, the Committee formed the hope that the Ukrainian authorities would do their utmost to stamp out any practices involving possible intimidation or retaliatory action against persons deprived of their liberty prior to, during and after visits to penitentiary and other establishments. In the light of the information at its disposal, the CPT was not convinced that all the necessary steps had been taken by the authorities to stamp out – once and for all – such practices. Consequently, the Committee decided to keep open the procedure. In its report, the CPT urges the Ukrainian authorities to take further action, notably by reviewing the manner in which inquiries into these practices are carried out. Further, the authorities should consider making any type of sanction, intimidation or reprisal against any person deprived of his or her liberty for seeking to communicate or having communicated with the CPT (or any other body active in preventing and combating torture and other forms of ill-treatment) a specifc criminal ofence.