CAT/C/39/2 page 52 220. On July 22 2005 the members of the Committee visited the Precinct of the 5th District in Rio de Janeiro. At the time, that Precinct was already a part of the “Legal Precinct” (Delegacia Legal) program and held no inmates. Today there are other precincts of this kind in the state. 221. On July 22 2005 the members of the Committee visited the Provisional Interment Center (CEIP) at Belo Horizonte, about which there had been press allegations concerning torture of minors. The Director of the Center had been suspended and replaced on the eve of the Committee’s visit. The Brazilian state informs that the procedure set in motion at the time was concluded on August 8 2005 and resulted in the Director’s dismissal. The documentation regarding the procedure was sent to the Public Prosecutor, who filed for penal action on July 22 2005 (Prc. No. 0024.05.573.362-0). 222. The premises of CEIP were restored and the problem of overcrowding is being gradually solved. It is expected that on the second half of this year the number of places offered will be three times that of 2003, from 420 to 1.141. The selection of the technical team is carefully done, there is continuous training, including on the issue of human rights. A new socio-educational model, based on educative intervention, has been adopted. 223. On July 23 2005 the members of the Committee visited the headquarters of Polinter in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian State informs that the jail at Polinter was closed and is today used only as a center for sorting and classifying detainees, as well as a halfway house for detainees being sent to custody centers. Detainees spend no more than one day at that place, among a total of 10 to 50 people under custody. 224. On July 26 2006 the members of the Committee visited the provisional detention center Padre Severino, in Rio de Janeiro, under DEGASE. The Brazilian state informs that currently 100% of the adolescents are enrolled in the school. 225. On July 29 2005 the members of the Committee visited Bangu III in Rio de Janeiro. The penitentiary encompasses two separate units and there is no overcrowding. The last rebellion took place in 2003. III. COMMENTS FROM BRAZIL ON THE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE “Paragraph 178, The Committee found, as described in the preceding paragraphs, endemic overcrowding, filthy conditions of confinement, extreme heat, light deprivation and permanent lock-ups (factors with severe health consequences for inmates), along with pervasive violence as well as lack of proper oversight, which leads to impunity. In fact, there is widespread impunity for the perpetrators of abuse. In addition, the Committee on several occasions received allegations attesting to the discriminatory nature of these conditions given that they affect vulnerable groups and in particular, persons of African descent. The Committee notes that. the government of Brazil, fully cooperated with the Committee’s visit, constantly expressed its awareness and concern with the seriousness of the existing problems, as well as its political will to improve. However, tens of thousands of persons are still held in delegacias and elsewhere in the penitentiary system where torture and similar ill-treatment continues to be “meted out on a widespread and systematic basis”. The Committee has defined systematic torture by stating that “the