Report on the Performance of the Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2019 Although the visit to the Zagreb County Prison took place during a period in July 2019 that was not the hottest, the highest temperature recorded in the rooms was 28°C, with 70% humidity. The metal blinds on the windows of some rooms made the situation worse still, as the sunlight heated them up, making the prisoners feel as if "they were in an oven". Certain groups of prisoners are especially sensitive to heat, such as the elderly, those using psychopharmaceuticals, high blood pressure therapies, those with asthma, diabetes and similar, who made up more than 40% of the prison population at the time of the visit. A detainee with an implanted pacemaker complained to us that he found it extremely difficult to withstand very high temperatures, trying to help himself by applying a towel dipped in cold water to cool down, but even this often did not help. Living in detention in the current conditions, especially during heatwaves, can be degrading. Such conditions may also negatively affect the behaviour of individuals in detention, and hence the security of the Prison, while it needs bearing in mind that prison staff also work in the same conditions. Along with overcrowding, accommodation conditions are also affected by the state of the prison buildings, which are old and dilapidated, whose refurbishment would require significant financial investment. For instance, the plumbing in the Varaždin County Prison is so run-down that the water pipes often leak, resulting in damp rooms where mould and fungus damage the walls. Prisoners have reported that even just a couple of days after the walls are painted water damage becomes visible. Such living conditions do not meet the international standards, and are dangerous to the health of persons living in such conditions. Treatment of the prisoners The deficiencies in delivery of treatment to persons in detention, which we have been highlighting in recent years, were again observed during the 2019 visits. As a rule, treatment staff do not interview detainees upon their reception to prison for remand detention on their own initiative. Such is the case for example in the Sisak County Prison, while the Varaždin County Prison is an example of good practice; there, the treatment staff conduct initial interviews with each person deprived of their liberty within a week of their reception to the prison. The procedure of reception to prison is exceptionally important, and should not be entirely left to the judicial police. The information persons in detention receive about their rights and the rules of conduct upon reception are often either very scarse, or not given at all ("short instructions by the commander and off you go to the cell"). It is important to point out that in its 26th General Report (§54), the CPT has highlighted the importance of carrying out the process of reception properly, so that the person deprived of their liberty receives all the necessary information about life in the prison, as they will otherwise have to rely on other inmates, 7