E/CN.4/1995/91 page 40 Several conscientious objectors are said to have been refused any food for several days and denied the right to write letters or make telephone calls to their closest relatives. It is also reported that they are held in unheated cells that let in the rain in mid-winter. Some are said to have been subjected to humiliating punishment, such as being woken up and made to clean the toilets at 2 a.m. every day and forced to remain standing for hours. Conditions of detention in the disciplinary cells of Nigrita Serres are alleged to be particularly harsh: damp cells, no windows, a single bench, only 4 square metres of space, and negligence in food distribution on the part of the guards. The following cases were brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur and summarized as follows: Mr. Charalombos (Babis) Andreopoulos: On 19 January 1993, Mr. C. Andreopoulos, a Jehovah’s Witnesses minister, is said to have applied to the competent authorities for exemption from military service on the basis of article 6, paragraph 1 c, of Law 1763/1988, which stipulates that ’religious ministers of known religions shall be exempt from military service’. On 22 January 1993, the Larissa recruiting office, and on 10 February, the National Defence Headquarters/Recruitment Division are reported to have rejected his application, refusing to recognize the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith as a known religion. In similar cases, the Greek Council of State is said to have considered that ’Jehovah’s Witnesses are members of a known religion’. On 24 March, Mr. C. Andreopoulos reportedly lodged an appeal with the Commission of the Council of State in order to obtain a stay of judgement. On 29 March, the appellant’s counsel are said to have obtained an interlocutory decision from the Council of State recognizing Mr. C. Andreopoulos to be a religious minister and for that reason exempt from military service. On the basis of that decision, Mr. C. Andreopoulos reportedly appealed to the Ministry of National Defence, which is said to have deferred the complainant’s recruitment into the army from two to three months. Mr. C. Andreopoulos is said to be expecting an official decision from the Council of State before the expiry of the aforementioned time-limit. It is reported that his case will be considered on 24 November 1994. Leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Alexandroupolis Concerning this case, dealt with in two previous reports (E/CN.4/1992/52, E/CN.4/1994/79), the Special Rapporteur was informed that, following the decision of 2 July 1991 by the Alexandroupolis Court to acquit the leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation charged with the illegal use of a house of prayer and to order the removal of the seals from that site, the police reportedly performed the operation on 2 July 1991.