several weeks) and the CPT recommends that such persons always be promptly transferred to a prison. In their response, the Latvian authorities refer to a Norwegian grant project, in the context of which major renovation work is planned to be carried out at Jelgava and Saldus Detention Facilities in the course of 2014, as well as at a number of other police detention facilities. The authorities also indicate that they are considering closing down the detention facility in Dobele. 68. The follow-up visits to Daugavgrīva and Jelgava Prisons mainly focused on the situation of life-sentenced prisoners. The two prisons hold all of the country’s male life-sentenced prisoners and, at the time of the visit, they were accommodating respectively 43 and 10 such prisoners. At Daugavgrīva, the material conditions under which this category of inmates was being held were on the whole of a good standard (in particular in the new unit for inmates on the low regime level), while at Jelgava, conditions of detention in the unit for life-sentenced prisoners remained generally poor. The CPT welcomes the eforts made at Daugavgrīva Prison to improve the regime ofered to life-sentenced prisoners on the medium regime level (23 at the time of the visit). A tailoring workshop had been created, which was attended by 18 inmates throughout the day from Monday to Friday. Further, all life-sentenced prisoners on the medium regime level continued to beneft from an open-door policy, having unrestricted access throughout the day to an outdoor yard and an association room. However, the Committee remains seriously concerned by the lack of progress in both Daugavgrīva and Jelgava Prisons as regards the regime applied to life-sentenced prisoners on the low regime level (i.e. more than half of all life-sentenced prisoners); these prisoners continued to be confned to their cells for 22 to 23 hours a day without being ofered any purposeful activities. It is also a matter of concern that hardly any sports activities were available to life-sentenced prisoners in both establishments. The CPT calls upon the Latvian authorities to take steps at Daugavgrīva and Jelgava Prisons to devise and implement a comprehensive regime of out-of-cell activities (such as work, education, sport, recreation) for all life-sentenced prisoners, including those on the low regime level. In their response, the Latvian authorities refer to plans to organise re-socialisation programmes and group sessions for life-sentenced prisoners at Jelgava and to provide these inmates with access to the establishment’s gym, following the renovation of the latter in the frst quarter of 2014. Further, information is provided about the employment opportunities provided by an outside company to seven life-sentenced prisoners on the low regime level at Jelgava Prison. More generally, reference is made in the response to discussions initiated by the Central Prison Administration concerning possible integration of life-sentenced prisoners into the mainstream prison population. 69. As was the case during previous visits, the delegation observed – in particular at Jelgava Prison – that the majority of life-sentenced prisoners were systematically handcufed whenever they were taken out of their cells and that the decisions imposing the use of handcufs were usually of a stereotyped nature with hardly any reasons given. The CPT stresses once again that the practice of handcufng prisoners while being escorted by staf inside the prison may only be justifed in highly exceptional Publication highlights ► Page 35