E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.2 page 54 of Buryatiya, Chuvashiya and Тyva, in Nizhniy Novgorod, Moscow, Chita regions, and in Moscow and St. Petersburg). On the whole the situation in penitentiary institutions is worsening, as indicated in the report of 21 January 2005 by the General Public Prosecutor, Vladimir Ustinov, who pointed to an increase in infringements by factor 1.5 as compared to the previous year. Other problems need urgent attention as well. In particular, the conditions in punishment cells, where prisoners can be confined for up to 15 days for non-compliance with prison rules, are not humane. In accordance with current regulations, beds in punishment cells are locked up for the entire day, and bed sheets are taken away, so the prisoners cannot rest. Most punishment cells are very small, dark and poorly ventilated rooms with extremely uncomfortable furniture. In addition, when prisoners are relocated inside a remand prison, some of them are placed in special ‘isolation boxes’ (a narrow box, which makes it impossible to move, and without any source of light) to prevent contact with other prisoners. While even very short periods of confinement in such boxes can be distressing, it is not uncommon for prisoners to be confined in them for several hours. Statutory restrictions alone will not substantially reduce the overcrowding of SIZOs without a corresponding change in the judicial pattern of ordering arrest, which is still an issue in a number of Russia’s major cities. 254. The Government informed that on 1 September 2005, 147, 000 persons were held in pretrial detention facilities, which constitutes a reduction of 26,500 (15 per cent) in comparison with 1 July 2002, when the new Criminal Procedure Code entered into force. Overcrowding therefore has been reduced from 80 per cent to 13 per cent. In the period between 1995 and 2005 the average space per prisoner has doubled and constitutes now 3.5 square metres. The Government also informed that every month approximately 5,000 persons are released from pre-trial detention facilities in connection with the use of non-custodial means. The recommendation concerning the use of stadiums or other public places cannot be implemented because federal law does not foresee mass detention of suspected or accused persons. 255. Recommendation (c) stated: Much greater use should be made of existing provisions in the law for release of suspects on bail or on recognizance (signature), especially as regards suspected first-time non-violent offenders. Instructions or guidelines to this effect should be given by the Minister of the Interior to investigators from his Ministry; by the Procurator General to State, regional and local procuratorial investigators and supervisory prosecutors, and by the Minister of Justice and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to all judges handling criminal cases. 256. In accordance with information received from NGOs, no statistics on release of suspects on bail is available. Although there are no obstacles in law for releasing on bail and 58% of citizens approve of this measure, anecdotic evidence shows that release on bail is applied very rarely because of the conservative position of public prosecutors and judges and because law enforcement bodies perceive release on bail as connivance to criminals. 257. Recommendation (d) stated: To the extent that the law has been so framed or interpreted as to restrict provisions for release on bail or recognizance to prevent the release of first-time, non-violent suspected offenders as a normal measure, the relevant federal and republican laws should be amended to secure this objective. 258. NGOs report that, in accordance with the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur, the new Criminal Procedure Code of 2002 did not only place the use of arrest as a