CAT/OP/GAB/1 prisons were built during the same period and on the same model, and in terms of the prison population, as they account for 60 per cent of all persons imprisoned in all categories (men, women, minors and foreign nationals). 64. The Subcommittee is extremely concerned by the deplorable material conditions in the prisons visited which, in its opinion, constitute torture. All the prisons in the State party date back to the colonial era: they are old, poorly ma intained and totally inadequate as places of deprivation of liberty. In most cases, the cells have very little or no ventilation and, because of this, the temperature can be extremely high, with humidity of up to 70 per cent during the day. Furthermore, they do not have even a minimum of either natural or artificial light, there are no sanitation facilities in the cells and those in the detention yards often do not work properly. In addition, the detainees sleep on the floor on simple mats or dirty old mattresses. The conditions in the disciplinary cell at Libreville Central Prison (6 m 2 ) are appalling: the heat is suffocating and the smell nauseating, there are no latrines and inmates are thus forced to “relieve themselves” in bottles or plastic bags, the food is passed through a barred window and the inmates have no opportunity to go out into the courtyard. Of the three persons held in the cell at the time of the visit, one had already spent a month there. 65. The Subcommittee is alarmed by the state of sanitation in the prisons visited. In particular, it observed the absence of functional sanitation and sewerage systems and, in Libreville, the existence of uncovered waste bins. The Subcommittee was shocked to see the inmates emptying septic tanks and disposing of the waste with their bare hands. Such conditions mean that the little cleaning and disinfecting that is done is useless, with rats and cockroaches living alongside the detainees and parasitic diseases and skin problems, including scabies, spreading through the prison population. 66. The delegation also heard corroborating accounts that not enough cleaning products were given out and there was a serious shortage of personal hygiene products. Prisoners therefore depend on their relatives to obtain thes e products, thus creating inequalities between those who have families and those who do not. 67. All of the detainees interviewed by the Subcommittee complained about both the quality and the quantity of food provided by the prisons. There is only a very s mall budget for food, so the prisoners are just given bread, that is, one baguette per day per person, and a portion of rice with one piece of chicken or fish (sometimes canned or dried). The prisoners are not given any fruit or vegetables. The extremely p oor diet is the direct cause of the many illnesses the detainees suffer from. Prisoners who have family nearby thus depend mainly on their relatives to bring them food, while the others never or almost never receive anything and are forced to carry out cho res or to provide “services”, including sexual intercourse, to their fellow inmates in the hope of benefiting from their generosity. 68. Pending the construction of modern prisons, the Subcommittee urges the State party to take immediate steps to improve the material conditions in the country’s prisons. 69. The State party should reduce the length of time that detainees are locked in their cells and ensure that the cells are lit and adequately ventilated. 70. The State party should have all prisons in the country cleaned and disinfected. Decontamination measures should also be taken: to prevent the spread of disease, liquid and solid waste and excrement should be collected, treated and disposed of not by the detainees, but by specialized companies. The State party should also ensure that there is a constant water supply in all the prison yards and provide personal hygiene products in sufficient quantity. 14/24 GE. 15-10283