CAT/C/SWE/CO/6-7 Imposition of restrictions, including isolation 8. The Committee notes with regret the position of the State party on the necessity of the use of restraints, such as isolation, during the preliminary investigation in the Swedish legal system. In particular, the Committee remains concerned at: (arts. 2, 11 and 16) (a) The high percentage of remand prisoners who are subject to restrictions and the differing restrictions which exist concerning their communications with the outside world; (b) The widespread and, in some cases, prolonged use of solitary confinement in pretrial detention; (c) The application of such restrictions, including isolation, to minors in police cells, remand prisons and special residential homes; (d) The incidents of suicide or suicide attempts in places of detention, in particular in remand prisons, suggesting they are the result of the use of restraints such as isolation measures. The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Use restrictions on remand prisoners only as an exceptional measure based on concrete grounds, laying them down in the law in accordance with international standards and only when strictly necessary in the interest of criminal investigations. To that end, the State party should establish clear guidelines for public prosecutors on the application of restrictions; (b) Abolish the use of solitary confinement for minors and set up a juvenile justice system in compliance with international standards; (c) Carry out thorough investigations of incidents of suicide or suicide attempts, and ascertain whether there is a link between the use of measures of physical restraint and the incidents of suicide or suicide attempts in places of detention. Pretrial detention 9. The Committee appreciates the various measures taken by the State party to reduce pretrial detention periods. However, the Committee remains concerned at the absence of a maximum time limit for such detention and the minimal attention given to alternatives to such detention. Furthermore, the Committee expresses its serious concerns that minors continue to be subjected to pretrial detention and that there is a lack of general and formalized routines as to how to handle minors in pretrial detention, as raised in the annual report of the Ombudsman for Children in 2013 (arts. 2 and 11). The State party should use pretrial detention as a measure of last resort, in particular for minors. In that regard, the State party should consider alternative measures to its use and ensure that the decisions imposing pretrial detention are based on objective criteria and supporting facts. It should also develop clear rules for the treatment of minors in police custody and monitor the effective implementation in practice of those rules. Detention of asylum seekers 10. While welcoming the ongoing review of the legal framework on detention under the Aliens Act, the Committee is concerned that (a) the time limit is for a maximum of 12 months under the Aliens Act, as amended on 1 May 2012; (b) there are reports that the detention of asylum seekers is not always used only as a measure of last resort and that the 3