CAT/OP/GAB/1 71. The State party must ensure that the quantity and the quality of food distributed in prisons conform to the relevant international standards 9 and actually increase the food budget so that it corresponds to the number of detainees held, rather than a prison’s nominal capacity. 72. Given the urgency of the situation, the Subcommittee urges the State party to expedite the projects for the construction of new prisons so that the existing prisons can be closed down as soon as possible. The new prisons should be designed and built in compliance with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. (iii) Prison overcrowding and pretrial detention 73. The Subcommittee is deeply concerned by the endemic overcrowding in all the prisons visited, illustrated by the example of Libreville Central Prison, which, at the time of the visit, housed 1,653 detainees for a nominal capacity of 300, an occupancy rate of nearly 550 per cent. Prison overcrowding is such that the yards are often not large enough to accommodate all the inmates of the section at the same time and additional levels have had to be installed in some cells to increase capacity. In Libreville, for example, the Subcommittee visited cells of 16m 2 in which 22 persons were held for more than 12 hours each day. 74. The Subcommittee notes that the overcrowding is exacerbated by the particularly high number of prisoners awaiting trial. It notes that the warrants of committal issued by the investigating judge do not all seem to state the grounds for committal, thus violating the principles of individual freedom and the presumption of i nnocence. This is not consistent with the rule of law. 75. The delegation received reports that many prisoners on remand had been held for periods far exceeding the maximum penalty of imprisonment to which they could be sentenced if convicted of the offence with which they stood accused. There can be no justification for holding remand prisoners beyond the period equivalent to the maximum sentence imposable for the offence of which they stand accused. 76. The Subcommittee is concerned by testimonies indicating that detainees have to present the hearing results issued by the court, which is reported as being a real obstacle to their release. It is, moreover, concerned by the situation of detainees, particularly minors, whose death sentences have not yet been commuted following the adoption of Act No. 3/2010 of 15 February 2010 abolishing the death penalty. 77. The Subcommittee recommends that a concerted strategy be adopted by the authorities to reduce the prison population through a combination of measures, including:  The release of all remand prisoners who have already been in custody for longer than the maximum prison sentence imposable for the offence of which they stand accused;  The use of non-custodial measures for children;  Diversion from custody of persons charged with petty offences through the use of other measures (such as release on bail) or a fine proportionate to the financial means of the individual person;  Conditional release in accordance with articles 121 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure (with or without bail) and the use of pretrial detention only in exceptional circumstances, as stipulated in article 115 of the Code; __________________ 9 GE. 15-10283 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, rule 20. 15/24