- 26 d. prisoners on protection 43. The CPT recognises that it may, at times, be necessary to remove prisoners from the general prison population and place them in separate accommodation for their own protection. As a rule, such separation should be for as short a period as possible; all appropriate measures should be taken to facilitate the reintegration of the persons into the general prison population, either in the same establishment or in another one. If a prisoner has to be separated for his/her own protection, that decision must be properly reasoned, documented and reviewed at regular intervals. In the course of the visit, the CPT found that most of the decisions taken to place prisoners in separate accommodation for their own protection were still taken on an informal basis, without proper procedures and safeguards in place. The CPT reiterates its recommendation that the Greek authorities ensure that all decisions to separate prisoners for their own protection be properly reasoned, documented and reviewed at regular intervals. 44. At Corfu Prison, the delegation met a prisoner who had been held alone in a cell on K Wing, on the same corridor as the transgender and disciplinary units. The cell (6m²) was dirty and dilapidated (plaster on the walls was blistering and crumbling) and equipped with a bunk bed, table and chair. It contained an unpartitioned floor-level toilet, blocked with a bottle to prevent rats coming out, and a sink. His cell was unlocked between 13h00 and 15h00 each day during which time he usually cleaned the yard and took a shower. He had been accommodated alone in the same cell for six and a half years with no possibilities to associate with other persons. He also received no visits. Due to the crime for which he was sentenced, he was still considered to be at risk of violence from other prisoners. The CPT recommends that, at Corfu Prison, efforts be made to provide the prisoner concerned with some structured activities and social interaction with other persons. 45. The living conditions in Special Area C in Korydallos Men’s Prison were once again32 in an appalling state. The five cells along the back corridor were accommodating 14 prisoners (reportedly accused of sexual offences); each 6m² cell was accommodating two or three persons, with one prisoner sleeping on a bed and the others on mattresses on the floor or sharing the bed. Each cell contained an unpartitioned toilet. The mattresses were dirty and worn, there was no in-cell artificial lighting, mould was present in several cells and hygiene was poor. Cell 9 had water leaking from the ceiling onto the floor. The detained persons spent their time hanging about the corridor or in their cells or in the small enclosed concrete yard. The single shower available for the unit was dilapidated and possessed no artificial lighting and was not always accessible throughout the day. The persons held there were generally in transit for a few weeks or months due to a court case and awaiting transfer to another prison establishment. In the four cells that could be accessed from the front corridor, the conditions for the seven occupants were similarly poor. Cell 2 accommodated three persons in 6m², with one person sleeping on a mattress on the floor. The cell was dirty and possessed no artificial lighting and there was no access to natural light, and the floor level toilet was filthy and not partitioned. These prisoners were offered no activities and, as they were not supposed to associate with the prisoners on the other corridor, access to the small outdoor yard was apparently not offered every day. Moreover, one of the persons in Cell 2 was disabled and could not walk unaided and yet no measures were put in place to support him. 32 See CPT/Inf (2020) 15, paragraph 39.