E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.2 page 10 21. In an office next door to the one where interrogation sessions were said to be held and as indicated by detainees, the Special Rapporteur found several iron bars similar to those described by the alleged victims of beatings. The officers in charge explained first that they were items of evidence in police criminal inquiries. The Special Rapporteur was not convinced by this explanation as the articles were not labelled. They then explained that they were used to check the cells’ bars. Detainees indicated to the Special Rapporteur that as the guards were checking bars, they were beating detainees. In another room on the first floor, the Special Rapporteur found other iron bars. The same explanation was given to the Special Rapporteur by the delegado who had arrived in the meantime. He added that some of the bars had been confiscated from detainees who were planning to use them during revolts. The Special Rapporteur noted that some of these instruments were actually labelled, while others were not. Finally, the Special Rapporteur found some hoods identical to those described by detainees, e.g. with respect to the incident of 9 June 2000 (see annex), and a small package of electrodes. With regard to the latter, the delgado stated that they were used to weld iron bars damaged by detainees. The delegado explained that the hoods had been found in the cells, but could not explain what the detainees would use them for. 22. Most of the detainees feared reprisals, in particular being sent to Itacoa police station where they believed their lives would be in danger because of the violence of other inmates, who were allegedly given knives, iron bars and similar instruments by the guards themselves. Detainees also acknowledged that since the arrival of the new delegado in July 2000, the beatings had stopped. The latter recognized that some of his staff may still use the threat of sending detainees to Itacoa police station to obtain order. 23. On 27 August, the Special Rapporteur visited the 11th district police station in Santo Amaro. The lock-up contained five cells measuring approximately 12 square metres each and holding 176 persons at that time, i.e. more than 35 persons in each cell. They were organized around a yard measuring approximately 40 square metres in which detainees were said to be free to move around from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on weekdays. Each cell contained a basic shower, i.e., a pipe, and a hole used as a toilet separated by a plastic sheet which had been put up by detainees themselves in an attempt to ensure some privacy. Water was said to be stopped periodically. In one cell, detainees indicated that they had not had water for three days. Once all detainees were seated in their respective cells, the Special Rapporteur noted that there was no space. Detainees said that they had been sleeping in shifts. There were no mattresses. 24. Many detainees had serious health problems, allegedly resulting from the treatment they had been subjected to during interrogation. One detainee had attempted, with co-detainees, to treat an injury resulting from a gunshot which, because of lack of medical treatment, had become seriously infected. Another had a dislocated right shoulder. A third was said to be suffering from tuberculosis and was in an obviously very weak state. It is alleged that requests for medical assistance are not responded to by the police authorities and often lead to further beatings. A large number of detainees also complained about skin diseases brought about by the conditions of detention. The Special Rapporteur noted that numerous detainees refused to speak to him out of fear of reprisals. When asked by the Special Rapporteur if their names could be referred to the delegado in order to ensure that appropriate medical treatment was provided, some detainees refused, also for fear of reprisals.