E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.2 page 12 lock-ups. They understandably believed that their humiliation was perpetuated on purpose in order to erode any sympathy on the part of the judges. The Special Rapporteur notes with concern the comment of a guard who, when told that the prisoners feared reprisals for talking to the Special Rapporteur and his team, told the detainees that, as they had behaved properly that night, it would not be necessary to “do anything to them”. 2. Prisons 29. On 25 August, the Special Rapporteur visited the Detention House (Casa de Detenção) of Carandiru penitentiary where 7,772 prisoners were held in nine blocks. Detainees were said to be divided according to the crime for which they had been sentenced. The official capacity of the Detention House was 3,500, but the Director said that the prisoners themselves, who had built new beds in their cells, had increased the capacity. In the blocks he visited, the Special Rapporteur noted that first-time and repeated offenders were together. All detainees complained about the poor quality of the food, which was mainly composed of pasta and rice mixed together. 30. In Block Four, the Special Rapporteur visited the punishment cells located in the basement, commonly referred to as the dungeon. The cells measure approximately nine square metres and contain a cement bed, a sink, and a hole as a toilet. Some detainees had allegedly received a very thin mattress and a sheet the day before the visit. At the time of the visit, the cells were without light, very smelly and dirty despite the fact that the main corridor was being washed, according to the detainees for the first time for at least 20 days. Cells intended for one person held two to five detainees. Most detainees had spent more than 20 days in these cells and did not know the length of their punishment. 31. A number of the prisoners in these cells claimed that they were being punished for having refused to be transferred from their original block, Block Nine, to the wing where transvestites and rapists are held as punishment for fighting among themselves. Before being sent to the punishment cells, they had been severely beaten with iron bars and some had been forced to sign a paper indicating they agreed to the transfer. Three detainees still had visible marks of torture consistent with their allegations. The Special Rapporteur was informed that one detainee had had his leg broken by the beatings and had been transferred, with two other seriously injured detainees, a few hours before the Special Rapporteur’s visit. When the Special Rapporteur asked to see them, he was told that two had been taken to court and were supposed to return shortly and the other had been transferred to Mandaqui hospital. Several hours later, the Special Rapporteur was told that two detainees were at the State High Security Prison where he was able to interview Marcelo Fereira da Costa and Ronaldo Gaspar dos Santos, despite the fact that they were in a state of shock and terrified of being subjected to reprisals after the Special Rapporteur’s departure (see annex). The following morning, the Special Rapporteur went to Mandaqui hospital to interview the third prisoner. Upon arriving at the hospital, he was told that the prisoner had been sent back to the Casa de Detenção at 23.30 p.m.the previous night. Finally, on 26 August, the Special Rapporteur met with Marcelo Miguel dos Santos who was in a wheelchair (see annex).