CAT/OP/GAB/1 Duration of custody 42. The Subcommittee notes that, under article 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the length of custody is 48 hours. It may be extended for a further 48 hours with the Attorney-General’s written authorization. The interviews during the visit highlighted the regular failure to respect the time limits on police custody. The Subcommittee did not find, in the registers or other documents, authorizations for the extension of police custody issued by the Attorney-General, and was informed that such authorizations were generally granted orally. 43. The Subcommittee recommends that the Gabonese authorities strengthen controls to ensure strict compliance with this rule laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure, which constitutes a guarantee for persons deprived of their liberty. A numbered, initialled and standardized register should be put in place to ensure effective monitoring of custody. Use of pretrial detention 44. The Subcommittee notes that pretrial detention is governed by articles 115 to 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 117 stipulates that the length of pretrial detention for ordinary offences may not exceed 6 months. It may be extended for a further 6 months at the request of the Attorney-General. An additional extension is possible on the basis of a reasoned judgement of the Indictments Chamber. In criminal cases, the length of pretrial detention may not exceed 1 year. It may be extended for a further 6 months at the request of the Attorney -General. An additional extension can only be obtained on the basis of a judgement by the Indictments Chamber and may not be longer than 6 months. Nevertheless, the Subcommittee notes with concern that the number of pretrial detainees in Gabonese prisons is very high, and that no alternative measures to deprivation of liberty are applied. Thus, it notes with concern that the prison in Libreville held 1,656 detainees on 5 December 2013, of whom 1,168 were pretrial detainees and 485 were convicted prisoners. The Subcommittee also found that the prison in Lambaréné held 150 pretrial detainees compared to 76 convicted prisoners, and that two thirds of those held in the prison in Port-Gentil were pretrial detainees. Worse still, during the interviews carried out by the Subcommittee, it found that some pretrial detainees had been in custody for several years. It observed that the situation was also due to court backlogs and systematic detention for very minor offences. The Subcommittee is further concerned that provisional release measures are seldom used, and that people are not released as a matter of course when the investigating judge and the Indictments Chamber fail to give a ruling before the expiry of the period of pretrial detention. The Subcommittee fears that the use of pretrial detention is a systematic practice. 45. The Subcommittee recalls that detention should be used as an exceptional measure, with liberty remaining the rule and detention the exception. Pretrial detention must be used as a last resort, only for the most serious crimes and offences and when there are sufficient grounds to justify it (security, collusion, flight risk, tampering with evidence, etc.). In all other cases, the Subcommittee recommends that the Government of Gabon use non-custodial measures, in accordance with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules) 6 and pursuant to the Code of Criminal Procedure of Gabon. The Subcommittee also recommends that the Government of Gabon take steps to clear court backlogs. __________________ 6 10/24 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 45/110 of 14 December 1990. GE. 15-10283