Overcrowding so bad that “it feels like there is not enough air in the cell to breathe” as well as poor hygiene that leads to the spread of infections. These are the inhumane conditions that awaiting trial detainees are being subjected to at the Pollsmoor Remand Detention Facility‚ according to Sonke Gender Justice and Lawyers for Human Rights‚ who are asking the Western Cape High Court to intervene to improve the conditions.Sonke said in a statement it had been tracking complaints of severe overcrowding and its effects in Pollsmoor Remand since 2014. Lawyers for Human Rights monitors overcrowding levels on a weekly basis and as of 1 February 2016‚ Pollsmoor Remand is operating at around 309% capacity‚ accommodating 2‚985 more detainees than it is approved to do.“Detainees are forced to share cells built to accommodate 30 people with between 65 and 80 other detainees. The cells are so overcrowded that one detainee stated‚ ‘you cannot walk around without bumping into people’. There are insufficient beds‚ and detainees are forced to share beds or to sleep on the floor without a mattress. Another detainee informed us that many of them sleep on their sides on the floor and cannot turn to another sleeping position when asleep because there is no space‚” Sonke said.“Cells have only one shower and toilet‚ which are shared by at least 65 detainees and are not partitioned off for privacy. There is no hot water‚ mop or cleaning products to clean the cells or to wash bedding.“One detainee described their cell as always hot and claustrophobic and another told us that it ‘feels like there is not enough air in the cell to breathe’.”Health concerns exacerbated by the overcrowding include the spread of tuberculosis as it is difficult to separate sick detainees from healthy ones‚ as well as skin conditions such as scabies. In September 2015‚ there was an outbreak of leptospirosis‚ an infectious disease caused by exposure to rat urine‚ resulting in the death of a remand detainee‚ Sonke said.“These conditions are a violation of detainees’ constitutional rights to human dignity and to be free from cruel‚ inhuman or degrading punishment.“In this court case Sonke is both mounting a constitutional challenge to the conditions in Pollsmoor Remand and seeking information on how the Department of Correctional Services plans to improve these conditions.“This litigation is a measure of last resort that follows years of unsuccessful engagement with the Department of Correctional Services by a number of dedicated civil society organisations.”..