CAT/C/KAZ/CO/2 page 8 Detention and places of deprivation of liberty 21. The Committee welcomes the successful reform of much of the Kazakh penitentiary system through the adoption of programmes conducted in close cooperation with international and national organizations as well as the enactment of new laws and regulations. It further notes that this reform resulted in a decrease of the rate of pre-trial detention, an increased use of alternative sanctions to imprisonment, more humane conditions of detention, and a marked improvement in the conditions of detention in post-conviction detention facilities. However, the Committee remains concerned at: (a) The deterioration of prison conditions and stagnation in the implementation of penal reforms since 2006; (b) Persistent reports of abuse in custody; (c) Poor conditions of detention and persistent overcrowding in detention facilities; (d) Excessive use of isolation with regards to pre-trial detainees and prisoners and lack of regulation of the frequency of such isolation; (e) Instances of group self-mutilation by prisoners reportedly as a form of protest for illtreatments; (f) Lack of access to independent medical personnel in pre-trial detention centres and the reported failure to register signs of torture and ill-treatment or to accept detainee’s claims of torture and ill-treatment as the basis for an independent medical examination; (g) Persistent high incidence of death in custody, in particular in pre-trial detention (e.g. the case of the former KNB General Zhomart Mazhrenov) some of which are alleged to have followed torture or ill-treatment (art.11). The State party should: (a) Adopt a programme for further development of the penal correction system similar to the one for the period 2004-2006m in order to bring the system into full conformity with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners; (b) Continue to train specialists in the penitentiary system and ensure that all persons in contact with detainees are familiar with international standards in the field of human rights protection and the treatment of prisoners; (c) Reduce overcrowding of places of detention, including through the building of new detention facilities and the application of alternative measures to imprisonment, as provided by the law; (d) Limit the use of isolation as a measure of last resort, for as short a time as possible under strict supervision and with a possibility of judicial review;