- 50 Notwithstanding the absence of overcrowding, the rooms were bleak and the converted warehouse impression resulted in an unwelcoming environment. Further, the use of loudspeakers to convey messages to inmates was totally inappropriate74 and, combined with the very limited contact between staff and inmates, only served to reinforce the impersonal approach of the prison. A major complaint in all the wings visited was the absence of hot water. Many women stated that it was not possible to maintain appropriate levels of hygiene as all washing (personal, bedding, clothes and dishes) had to be done in cold water. As for the ‘baby’ washing machines provided to each wing, they were all apparently broken. Prisoners on each wing had access to an exercise yard with high walls, to which they were allowed access for two or more hours a day. However, the yards were devoid of any equipment or shelter and most women did not go out as they said there was nothing to do or see. Each wing had a number of single cells, but they were not generally used. One woman serving a life sentence described the psychological pressure she felt after sharing accommodation with shorter term prisoners but that her requests for the privacy of a single cell were always denied; her solution was to go on hunger strike, which resulted in 20 days confinement and a period of calm. The conditions observed in the juvenile unit were, by comparison, generally satisfactory, with each double-occupancy cell being suitably furnished and having adequate access to natural light and artificial lighting and sufficient ventilation. The purpose-built mother and baby centre also provided good conditions. b. regime 105. The legal basis governing the general daily routine has not changed since 2005, and is laid down in Article 8 of the Decision on the “Internal Regulation of General Detention Establishments Type ‘A’ and ‘B’” by the Minister of Justice75, and is the same for all prisons in Greece. For most of the day, between 7h30 and 23h00, prisoners are not confined to their cells76 and, in theory, between 8h00 and midday and from 15h00 until half an hour before sunset, the prisoners can engage in sports, work, education and other participatory programmes. Additional out-of-cell time is allocated for holidays and during heat waves. However, in reality in none of the prisons visited was it possible to talk of a meaningful regime with purposeful activities for the majority of the prisoners. 74 75 76 The use of loudspeakers in other prisons, such as Patras and Korydallos Men’s, was equally inappropriate. No. 58819 of 7 April 2003 (in Government Gazette Issue No. 463 of 17 April 2003). Prisoners are confined to their cells between 12h15 and 15h00.