CAT/C/MDV/CO/1 amend its legislation in order to remove discriminatory provisions governing evidentiary burdens in cases in which men are accused of rape. Judicial flogging 31. The Committee is seriously concerned about the practice of “judicial flogging” administered under a restrictive and/or hard line interpretation of sharia penalties, which is also allowed under the Penal Code, mostly as punishment for consensual extramarital sex. It is gravely concerned that this corporal punishment is also used against survivors of sexual abuse and assault and that 85 per cent of persons punished in this way are women and girls (arts. 2 and 16). 32. The State party should immediately enact a moratorium on flogging and other corporal punishment and should consider reviewing its laws with a view to prohibiting the practice as a matter of priority. Death penalty 33. The Committee welcomes the statement by the delegation of the State party that it intends to uphold the 65-year moratorium on the death penalty and vote in favour of the General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. While welcoming the statement by the delegation that since the inauguration of the new President, the sentences of 15 of the 18 persons who had been sentenced to death in the State party have been commuted to life imprisonment, the Committee expresses its continued concern that some of the individuals on death row had alleged that they were convicted on the basis of confessions that were obtained through torture and that some were convicted for crimes allegedly committed when they were juveniles (arts. 2, 4, 11, 12, 13 and 16). 34. The State party should continue to uphold its moratorium on executions, consider commuting all remaining death sentences and consider amending its laws in order to abolish the death penalty for all crimes. Prison reform and conditions of detention 35. While welcoming the statement by the delegation of the State party that one of its top priorities will be prison reform, the Committee is concerned about the conditions of detention, including: (a) Material conditions in penitentiary and other detention facilities that do not meet the minimum international standards, such as inadequate sanitary and hygiene facilities, insufficient lighting and ventilation, insufficient quality and quantity of food, little or no possibility of physical exercise outdoors and overcrowding, which may in some cases amount to ill-treatment or even torture; (b) Purposely denying prisoners prompt and adequate medical care and medicines, sometimes resulting in the death of prisoners; (c) The frequent use of prolonged solitary confinement, in particular against political prisoners; as well as giving them rotten or expired food; (d) The use of torture and ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by penitentiary and other custodial staff (arts. 2, 11 and 16) 36. The State party should: (a) Urgently undertake the prison reform it has announced; (b) Urgently take all necessary measures to improve material conditions in all places of deprivation of liberty, including reducing overcrowding, in keeping with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules); and consider using alternatives to imprisonment in conformity with the Tokyo Rules in order to decrease the prison population; (c) Ensure that prisoners receive adequate and timely medical care and medication, that they are provided with proper and sufficient food and are not subjected to prolonged solitary confinement; 8