whereas the inmates of closed-type establishments have the right to spend no more than one hour in the open air. It should be stressed that the prisoners of closed-type establishments spend 23 hours a day in cells and their walk for only an hour in a cell-type yard with no exercise equipment may have ramifications for their health. It is, therefore, necessary that there should be adequate conditions for spending time in fresh air and exercise in penitentiary establishments. Besides, the daily duration of spending time in the open air should be increased. Due to inadequate arrangement of the walking areas, prisoners forego their right to spend time in the open air in a number of cases. The Public Defender discussed this issue in the Parliamentary Reports of 2014 and 2015; however, this problem continues to exist in penitentiary establishments. There are 560 accommodation cells in total in establishment no. 8,152 out of which, 25 cells are occupied by the prisoners enrolled in economic services. These prisoners do not exercise the right to open air.153 There are 90 yards in the establishment. The prisoners are taken out according to the cells. In accordance with the establishment’s schedule, walking starts from 9 a.m. and continues until 12 noon. In accordance with this schedule, in 3 hours prisoners from only 270 cells manage to leave their cells and have a walk outside.154 Prisoners from other cells are unable to exercise this right. According to the prisoners of establishment no. 8, they often decline to exercise their right to leave their cell as they are offered a walk either at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. Besides, as the convicts from establishment no. 8 are transferred to other establishments on Saturdays, they cannot use their right to walk on this day either. The refusal expressed by the prisoners is registered in the journals of the accommodation buildings of the establishment. The refusals are registered according to the cells without stating the time frame when the walk was offered (only a date is entered). According to well-established practice,155 a prisoner should not stay alone in either a cell or a yard, which means that a prisoner’s wish to have a walk outside depends on his/her cellmate. The Public Defender considers it impermissible and a prisoner wishing to have a walk outside should be given this possibility in any event. In establishment no. 6, too, prisoners are offered to have a walk at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., due to which, as the prisoners explain, they decline to go out into a yard. According to the prisoners of establishment no. 18, they are only taken to a yard twice a week for only 15 minutes. According to the recommendations given in the Parliamentary Reports of 2014 and 2015, the prisoners in establishment no. 8 were to be given a possibility to exercise their right to walk in the open air during the period defined by the daily schedule. However, the same problem was raised, in the reporting period, with regard to establishments nos. 6 and 18. 152 As of 1 March 2017, there were 2 324 prisoners in establishment no. 8 and only 16 cells were vacant. 153 The prisoners enrolled in economic service can freely move on the establishment premises during the day, therefore they do not need to have a daily walk in the yard. 154 Within this period, excluding the time spent on taking prisoners out of cells and bringing them out in the yard. 155 According to the establishment personnel, this practice is aimed preventing suicide. 80 HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN CLOSED INSTITUTIONS