Information to and complaints by prisoners Upon admission, prisoners shall be informed of the regulations they are to live by and of authorized channels for seeking information and making complaints. Prisoners are to have the right to make complaints to the director of the institution, as well as to the central prison administration and the judicial authority, in the proper form but without censorship as to substance, and they are to have the opportunity to speak directly to an inspector of prisons outside the presence of institutional staff members. Unless evidently frivolous, each complaint shall be replied to promptly. Prisoners are to be allowed regular contact with family and friends, by both correspondence and personal visits. Prisoners who are foreign nationals shall be allowed communication with diplomatic and consular representatives of their State, or a State or international authority that has taken charge of their interests.
Prisoners are to be kept informed of current events and important items of news.
Every institution shall maintain for the use of prisoners a library with recreational and instructional books. If the institution contains a sufficient number of prisoners of the same religion, a qualified representative of each religion shall be appointed to hold services and pay pastoral visits. No prisoner shall be refused access to a qualified representative of a religion, nor shall he be required to entertain a religious visit he objects to. As far as is practicable, every prisoner is to be allowed to satisfy religious needs by attending services and possessing books of observance and instruction. Retention of prisoners' property Money, valuables and personal effects which prisoners are not allowed to keep in their possession are to be kept in safe custody until the prisoner's release.