CPT _2010_ 82 - EN - Report Armenia 2010 _2_ - The Government ...

- 38 -5. Conditions of detention of the general prison populationa. follow-up visit to Nubarashen Prison80. Nubarashen Prison was the subject of a full visit by the CPT in 2002. 53 With an officialcapacity of 840 places, the inmate population has almost doubled over the last eight years, with1,259 inmates at the time of the 2010 visit (including 402 remand prisoners, 590 inmates at variousstages of the appeal process and 134 inmates serving their sentences). 5481. As regards material conditions, most of the cells were seriously overcrowded, with asignificant proportion of inmates taking turns to sleep on the available beds or on the floor (e.g. 19prisoners in a cell of 26 m² containing 12 beds). 55The majority of cells (and in-cell toilets) were in a state of dilapidation, the cells of“homosexual” prisoners – located next to the disciplinary cells – being among the worst.Ventilation was poor, and running water was available for a maximum of four hours a day (twohours in the morning and two hours in the evening). Moreover, in winter, cells were heated withelectric stoves but electricity cuts were not rare.Further, the shower facilities were generally in a poor state of repair, and prisoners hadaccess to them at best once a week, frequently only once every two weeks.82. The provision of outdoor exercise at Nubarashen Prison has been an ongoing problem sincethe CPT’s first visit in 2002. Outdoor exercise was still not organised at week-ends, mainly due tostaff shortages, and most prisoners interviewed indicated that, in practice, they were allowedoutdoor exercise once to three times a week.Apart from a few prisoners working in general services (e.g. cleaning, maintenance work,kitchen), the vast majority of inmates were locked up for 23 or even 24 hours a day in their cells,with no other activities than watching TV, playing board games or reading books.535455See paragraphs 69-75 of document CPT/Inf (2004) 25.It was accommodating 665 inmates at the time of the 2002 visit.Some remand prisoners were held for about 16 months in such conditions.