64 transferred Lori Berenson, who had then been convicted, [...] to the Huacariz Prison”; and c) Regarding the prison regime of the alleged victim, the characteristics of her current regime may be classified as “regular, because [...] they are applied to all prisoners in the country, without exception.” Considerations of the Court 98. Article 5 of the Convention establishes: 1. Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity respected. 2. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with regard for the inherent dignity of the human person. [...] 6. Punishments consisting of deprivation of liberty shall have as an essential aim the reform and social readaptation of the prisoners. 99. The Commission did not deal with Lori Berenson’s detention conditions before her entry into the Yanamayo Prison on January 17, 1996, or after her transfer to the Socabaya Prison on October 7, 1998, either in its Report on merits No. 36/02 or in the application (supra paras. 15 and 18). Consequently, the Court will only examine whether the detention conditions in the Yanamayo Prison were incompatible with the provisions of Article 5 of the American Convention. 100. This Court has indicated that torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment are strictly prohibited by international human rights law.214 The prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment is absolute and non-derogable, even under the most difficult circumstances, such as war, threat of war, the fight against terrorism and any other crimes, martial law or a state of emergency, civil commotion or conflict, suspension of constitutional guarantees, internal political instability or other public emergencies or catastrophes.215 101. Penalties are an expression of the State’s authority to punish and “imply impairment, deprivation or alternation of the rights of an individual, as a result of an unlawful conduct.”216 However, the injuries, sufferings, damage to health or prejudices suffered by an individual while he is deprived of liberty may become a form of cruel punishment when, owing to the circumstances of his imprisonment, there is a deterioration in his physical, mental and moral integrity, which is strictly prohibited by Article 5(2) of the Convention. Such situations are contrary to the “essential aim” of the penalty of imprisonment, as established in paragraph 6 of this Article; in other words, “the reform and social readaptation of the prisoners.” Judicial 214 Cf. Case of Tibi, supra note 3, para. 143; Case of the Gómez Paquiyauri Brothers, supra note 16, para. 111; and Case of Maritza Urrutia, supra note 4, para. 89. 215 Cf. Case of Tibi, supra note 3, para. 143; Case of the Gómez Paquiyauri Brothers, supra note 16, para. 111; and Case of Maritza Urrutia, supra note 4, para. 89. 216 Cf. Case of Baena Ricardo et al.. Judgment of February 2, 2001. Series C No. 72, para. 106.