106 security, and to protect fundamental rights, such as the right to life and integrity of 373 persons deprived of liberty or the personnel.” 279. Based on the Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement and specialized literature on the topic, imprisonment in solitary confinement may cause serious psychological and at times physical harm to the person, with symptoms ranging from insomnia and confused thought processes to hallucinations and psychosis. These negative health effects can begin to manifest 374 themselves after only a few days of confinement and progressively become worse. In this regard, the SRT “concludes that 15 days is the limit between ‘solitary confinement’ and ‘prolonged solitary confinement’ because at that point, according to the literature surveyed, some of the harmful psychological effects of isolation can become 375 irreversible.” Accordingly, it is fundamental that solitary confinement should be kept to a minimum, used in very exceptional cases, for as short a time as possible –as a 376 matter of days, not weeks or months–, and only as a last resort. 280. Solitary confinement of unconvicted individuals is particularly troubling, inasmuch as it constitutes an infringement of the conditions of punishment and is potentially harmful to persons who are innocent until proven guilty. Additionally, it can be used to coerce the detainees and force them to self-incriminate or to provide any type of information. In this regard, the SRT has stated: While physical and social segregation may be necessary in some circumstances during criminal investigations, the practice of solitary confinement during pretrial detention creates a de facto situation of psychological pressure which can influence detainees to make confessions or statements against others and undermines the integrity of the investigation. When solitary confinement is used intentionally during pretrial detention as a technique for the purpose of obtaining information or a confession, it amounts to torture as defined in article 373 IACHR, Principles and Best Practices for the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, Principle XXII(3). A whole body of standards has been developed on the topic of solitary confinement in the field of international human rights law setting the grounds, placing limits and providing for guarantees and ways to use this measure. In this regard see in general, IACHR, Report on Human Rights Situation of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, paras. 397 – 418. 374 The most widely reported effects of solitary confinement are of a psychological nature. Symptoms occur in the following areas and range from acute to chronic: anxiety, depression, anger, cognitive disturbances, perceptual distortions, paranoia and psychosis. Physiological effects, such as gastro-intestinal, cardiovascular and genital-urinary problems, as well as migraine headaches and intense fatigue, are also widely reported. See: Shalev, Sharon, A sourcebook on solitary confinement, Mannheim Centre for Criminology, LSE, 2008, pp. 15 and 16. Available at: http://solitaryconfinement.org/uploads/sourcebook_web.pdf. 375 UN, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Interim Report, A/66/268, published on August 5, 2011, paras. 26 and 61. 376 UN, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Interim Report submitted in compliance with Resolution No. 62/148 of the General Assembly, A/63/175, approved on, July 28, 2008, para. 83.