Ensuring that all detainees have prompt access to a lawyer is a key safeguard of their rights in prison, whether they are in pre-trial detention or convicted of an offence

Detainees have the right to make complaints about any aspect of their treatment or conditions in detention to the prison authorities and independent bodies.

Ensuring all persons deprived of their liberty have prompt access to a judge is an important safeguard against arbitrary detention and to ensure that the rights of detainees are respected.

Deprivation of liberty, which is characterised by an imbalance of power between representatives of the authority and detainees, results in risks of all types of abuse, including ill-treatment and torture.

The right to information is important for legal proceedings for persons in pre-trial detention (including the information required for an appeal) as well as when it comes to the rights, obligations and rules of life in detention.

There are different types of records kept in prisons, and each performs a particular function.

Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment are absolutely prohibited in any circumstances and can never be justified.