A/HRC/43/49/Add.1 64. The Special Rapporteur and his team were able to carry out only one pre-scheduled visit, arranged by the Government, to Moroni Prison, which is the largest prison in the country. 65. Of the nine gendarmerie stations, the Special Rapporteur was able to conduct only a partial visit of the gendarmerie station in Anjouan. 66. Several high-level opposition leaders and other political prisoners have been placed under house arrest in private houses. The Special Rapporteur formally requested access to the assigned residence of former President Sambi, but his request was denied. 67. Due to the serious obstruction of full access to places of detention and the subsequent suspension of the visit, the Special Rapporteur was unable to inspect the main station of the gendarmerie in Moroni, the Juvenile Division, Nkoki Prison or the gendarmerie station in Dormoni, Anjouan. 68. In the places of detention visited, the occupancy rate was lower than the official maximum capacity of the institution. However, the official capacity of places of detention appears to be calculated on the basis of available beds rather than available space per inmate, which in some facilities results in available surface areas as small as 2 m 2 or less per inmate, thus clearly falling short of the universally recommended minimum standards of 3.4 m2 per inmate in collective accommodation and 5.4 m2 in single cells.10 1. Prison service 69. The overall responsibility for correctional facilities, the implementation of judicial decisions and the treatment of prisoners lies with the Ministry of Justice. According to the Minister of Justice, at the time of the visit, the prison in Anjouan held 90 detainees (no female detainees) with 16 guards, and the prison in Moheli held 17 detainees (1 female) with 6 guards. 70. The Special Rapporteur visited Moroni Prison, the largest of the three prisons, but the tour had been prearranged by the Government. According to the director of the prison, the official capacity of the prison was 95 to 100 detainees. At the time of the visit, there were 86 inmates, including 50 convicted prisoners (8 serving life sentences and 2 serving 20-year sentences). There were 36 inmates in pretrial detention, including 3 minors and 3 females. There were six guards, as well as private guards for external security. 71. At the time of the visit, contrary to earlier reports received by the Special Rapporteur, he did not observe overcrowding in relation to capacity. It remained unclear whether this was an exceptional situation resulting from the recent presidential pardons after the Eid alFitr holiday, or because of the escape of 32 prisoners on 19 March 2019, or the reflection of a policy aimed at avoiding unnecessary detention. During that escape one inmate had died, and only one had been recaptured. Prison authorities admitted that they did not know who had escaped as there were no accurate records of those detained. The Special Rapporteur examined the registry, which was handwritten and did not contain all data, as relevant information was not maintained. 2. Conditions of detention (i) Moroni Prison 72. All the relevant authorities (the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor’s Office, the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms and the director of Moroni Prison) made it clear that they were acutely aware of the insufficient material conditions and were open to improvements as required, but had no funds. 73. The Special Rapporteur was informed that, under a project of the European Union for the justice sector, studies had been conducted and there were pending measures to improve the current conditions of detention, including a full-scale renovation of Moroni Prison and the construction of a new detention facility (on the condition that additional reforms were undertaken, which to date, the Government has not agreed to). Furthermore, 10 International Committee of the Red Cross, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Habitat in Prisons: Supplementary Guidance (Geneva, 2013), p. 33. 9