Recommendations (A/HRC/10/44/Add.2) Situation during visit in 2008 (a) Incorporate a specific crime of torture in the criminal law; Section 157 (a) of the Criminal Code referred to torture as aggravating circumstance in relation to existing crimes and increased the maximum penalties for such acts. Steps taken in previous years Information received in the reporting period Government: the Committee on Criminal Law (Straffelovrådet) has thoroughly assessed the need for the adoption of a specific provision on the crime of torture in Danish criminal law. The committee did not recommend this mainly due to the fact that all acts considered to be covered by the definition of torture in Art. 1 CAT is already covered by existing provisions of Danish criminal law. The Danish Government is still of the opinion that the current legislation – including the specific provision in Section 157 (a) of the Danish Criminal Code to make torture an aggravating circumstance in the determination of a penalty for a violation of the Criminal Code – is a sufficient and adequate response to the need to criminalize the crime of torture. (b) Further reduce the use of solitary confinement, based on the unequivocal evidence of its negative mental health effects upon detainees Non-governmental sources: A report from the Danish Director of Public Prosecutions [Rigsadvokaten] from October 31 2008 shows that there has been a significant decrease in the use of solitary confinement of remand prisoners in 2007 compared to previous years. The total number of days remand prisoners were in solitary confinement was in 2006 13.838 compared to 7.189 days in 2007. This is a decrease of 48%.1 Non-governmental sources: There has been no new legislation concerning solitary confinement. The statistics covering 2008 are not available at the present time. Anvendelsen af varetægtsfængsling i isolation i 2007, Rigsadvokaten, journal no. RA-2007-120-0037, available in Danish at http://www.justitsministeriet.dk/fileadmin/downloads/Pressemeddelelser2008/redegoerelse_isolation.pdf (20.08.2009) 49 A/HRC/13/39/Add.6 1 Solitary confinement of remand prisoners on the basis of a court decision was used to isolate suspects during criminal investigations in pre-trial detention, whereas administrative solitary confinement (reduced or total exclusion from association with other detainees) may be imposed on remand and