Annual Report 2010 by the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture interrupted or cancelled unless by order of the courts and in circumstances of terrorist activity Based on this Office’s experience to date, the justification of these reasons is not particularly strict and does not compromise the confidentiality of the lawyer­ client relationship. The visits are held in booths, they are confidential and cannot be interrupted of cancelled unless by order of the courts and in circumstances of terrorist activity (art. 51.2 LOGP). Searches are conducted on both the inmates and their cells. The frequency increases according to the inmates’ prison rating. X-ray examinations require the permission of the courts During these inspection visits, inmates do not usually complain about the way searches are conducted SGIP staff do not carry weapons, and no access is permitted by anyone who is armed. As coercive measures, use may be made of provisional solitary confinement, personal physical force, rubber batons, suitably appropriate aerosol sprays and handcuff No irregularities have been observed during the visits 148 354. For reasons of interior security, the prisons conduct searches on both the inmates and their cells, with the frequency increasing according to the inmates’ prison rating. Whenever strip searches are conducted, these are authorised by the Senior Duty Officer and are always performed by staff of the same sex as the inmate, in a room apart from all the other inmates, with the inmate being provided accordingly with a dressing gown. A written record is kept of both its performance and the reason the measure was taken, with notification made to the prison director. No provision is made in the rules for its notification to the courts, although some prisons do report instances of strip searches. If the result of the search is fruitless and there continue to be reasons to suspect that some item or substance is being concealed in a body cavity, the prison director may ask the competent courts for permission to use X-rays, as these are deemed to be invasive tests. During these inspection visits, inmates do not usually complain about the way searches are conducted. Nevertheless, one of the inmates at Martutene prison (Gipuzkoa) complained that two days earlier he had been the subject of a strip search in one of the corridors on his row in front of all the other inmates; with his consent, these circumstances were reported to the Ombudsman’s Department of Security and Justice, with a view to conducting the appropriate investigation, with the subsequent findings being that the complaint was unfounded. 355. According to prison legislation, in the event of situations that cause a disturbance of the peace, the following coercive measures may be used: provisional solitary confinement, personal physical force, rubber batons, suitably appropriate aerosol sprays and handcuffs. Pursuant to article 72 of the RP, the use of these measures is to be proportional to the situation, to be applied solely for the time as strictly necessary when there is no other gentler means, and they may not constitute a covert punishment. Their use is to be authorised beforehand by the director, except for reasons of emergency, in which case the director is to be informed immediately, and they are to be reported to the court, with a record kept in the inmate’s personal file. SGIP staff do not carry weapons, and no access is permitted to a prison by anyone who is armed. The national security and police forces, generally the Civil Guard, are responsible solely for guarding the perimeter areas outside the prisons and do not have access to the blocks or the inmates’ communal areas. Whenever this Office visits the prisons, it is normal practice to visit those inmates who are subject to precautionary measures involving solitary confinement or THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN