E/CN.4/2005/6/Add.3 page 11 correspondence. These conditions are stipulated by the prosecutor issuing the order of arrest and placement in pre-trial detention or extending the pre-trial detention period. When the investigation is completed and the case is sent to the court, the regime of detention is decided by the judge in charge of the case. In practise, the restrictions of the pre-trial regime continue to be applied until a final judgement enters into force. 25. Trials heavily depend on the results of the preliminary investigation. There is no judicial oversight over the investigation and no checks and balances. Defendants have the right to legal counsel, to attend proceedings, to confront witnesses and present evidence on their own behalf. Courts appoint legal counsel for those who cannot afford the services of a private lawyer. 26. Once a final court decision enters into force, after the exhaustion of all remedies, the convicted person who has been sentenced to a period of deprivation of liberty is sent to a penal colony to serve his/her sentence. For men, there are penal colonies in nearly every oblast, for women and children there is only one of each for the whole country. In penal colonies, convicts are expected to work. The Working Group noted that there were several workshops of craft industries in the penal colonies it visited. Alimony for the detainee’s dependants and monetary compensation for the victims or for the State, are deducted from a detainee’s salary, if it is so stipulated in his or her sentence. 27. The regime of penal colonies for convicted persons is much milder than the one for persons in pre-trial detention facilities. Inmates live in dormitories, not cells; besides their work, they have access to cultural and sports facilities; family and relatives can visit once a month and visiting hours are longer than for persons in pre-trial detention; there are no serious restrictions on mail, parcels or phone calls (always at the detainee’s expense) and they are free to move around their unit. 3. The situation of minors 28. Belarus does not have a specialized system for juvenile offenders. The age of penal responsibility is established at 14 years and penal majority at 18 years. Minors suspected of having committed an offence can be detained in police custody for 72 hours the same way as adult offenders. They can also be held in pre-trial detention for 10 days before charges are brought and detained, for the needs of the pre-trial investigation, for up to a maximum of 18 months. 4. Administrative detention 29. Administrative detention is a distinct procedure not related to the criminal procedure. The Code of Administrative Offences stipulates the cases in which a person can be placed in administrative detention: (i) A person may be detained for up to 30 days for the purpose of ascertaining his or her address or identity (when a person is found not carrying valid identity papers, or is not registered or is found with no fixed or valid address). After expiring of the time limit, the detainee should be released;