82 Trial Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners by screening potential interviewees by asking them first to send a letter of invitation describing why they want a meeting. Interviews should be carried out in a safe room within the detention centre – usually one used for meetings with relatives or lawyers – and with each interviewee separately. Monitors should insist that the meetings be unsupervised and private. However, for their safety, they should request the presence of security personnel in close proximity outside the door, but out of hearing range, and sit closer to the exit. Interviewing detainees without their handcuffs has generally fostered confidence as a sign of respect, as has taking extensive notes of what is being stated. Programme managers will also need to consider whether or how they may report or share information received from interviews with detained persons. There are occasions when defendants wish to provide information to monitors under the condition of confidentiality. In other circumstances, detainees convey information that should be provided to competent actors for immediate action. Therefore, it is advisable for monitoring staff to inform interviewees how they apply the principle of confidentiality. Additionally, there may be recommendations that monitors can address to the detention centre authorities, to the extent that their programme does not apply the principle of non-intervention to actors other than those involved directly in court proceedings. The risk of retribution against persons who have shared concerns regarding the detention authorities should also be considered. A particular issue that has concerned OSCE monitoring programmes is that of hunger strikes. There have been instances when suspects or convicted persons have gone on hunger strikes in support of their demands, one of which can be the request to speak to human rights organizations. Monitoring programmes should carefully consider whether and how they may react in such a situation, taking into account the complex human, political and professional aspects of the issue. Additionally, trial monitors will be interested in reviewing whether and how the courts have recorded such a protest. 9.3.4 Interviews with injured parties, witnesses, and organizations involved in supporting vulnerable individuals Many OSCE trial-monitoring programmes do not rule out meetings with injured parties or witnesses, particularly if they approach the organization on their own initiative to convey their concerns. Additionally, monitoring staff often communicate with organizations involved in supporting witnesses and vulnerable individuals. When meeting with injured parties – particularly when heinous crimes are concerned – monitors should pay special attention to their psychological state and demonstrate gender sensitivity. If interviews with injured parties of gender-based violence are conducted, programmes may arrange for a monitor of the corresponding gender to conduct the interview, which can make it easier for victims to recount their experiences. Meetings are preferably conducted at the premises of the organization, unless there is good reason to arrange them at a different place where the interviewee feels more comfortable. As in meetings with defendants, interviewers should explain their mandate and limitations, and refrain from creating expectations that the programme cannot meet. However, monitors can raise awareness about existing mechanisms that can assist these parties. In cases involving vulnerable persons, given the risk of re-traumatization, programmes usually rely on indirect sources of information, such as interviews with organizations of psychologists that support victims or with lawyers who represent them. Government centres for social work, NGOs and specialized sections within court registries may also play a crucial role in providing psychological and material support to vulnerable individuals involved in the justice system, whether in the capacity of witness, defendant or injured party. Therefore, they can provide an overview of the situation