reasons for that measure; when told of rights; signs of injury, mental illness, etc; when next of kin/consulate and lawyer contacted and when visited by them; when offered food; when interrogated; when transferred or released, etc.).20 2.2.2. The institutions of the Ministry of Justice Penitentiary Service. Preventive visits and measures towards ensuring the rights of detainees in the penitentiary institutions were progressed within the activity of the Commissioner as the National Preventive Mechanism. In general, in 2016, 65 scheduled and ad-hoc visits were conducted in the investigation isolators and penitentiary institutions under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The complete environment was created for conduction of visits to these institutions by the Commissioner within the frames of her activity as the NPM. During the visits, private meetings were held with 497 inmates and their detention condition, access to health care, upholding of honor and dignity, the prevention of torture and ill-treatment were the issues of focus of attention. The prisoners’ rights to social security, to health, to appeal, to receive legal aid and others in the places of arrest and penitentiary institutions were also subjects of the investigation. As a result of carried out visits it was observed that the works on improving the detention conditions of imprisoned and arrested persons in compliance with the national legislation and international standards were continued; the roofs of penitentiary institutions and investigation isolators as well as sanitarian units were renovated; the condition in dormitories and penal isolators were improved and the heating systems were installed; rooms for phone conversations, visiting rooms, classes, investigation and lawyer’s rooms, clubs, canteens, walking areas, medical sanitary units and drug storages were repaired. According to the response letters to the Commissioner’s requests to take measures for improving the condition, it was stated that final constructional works were being carried out in the new penitentiary institutions, penitentiary complexes in Ganja and Lenkaran cities, in female prison located in Zabrat settlement of Baku, juvenile correctional institutions, in prison located in Umbaki settlement according to the project-estimates documents. Within the frames of the activity as the NPM on time appeals were sent to the Penitentiary Service with the recommendations on ventilation of penitentiary institutions and investigation isolators’ dormitories and cells with regard the difficulties may occur in detention of prisoners in winter and 20 CPT, GR 2, paraqraph 40 32