Aboriginal women Deanna, 30, and Simone, 35, were held in the Alice Springs watch house for extended periods from January and late November respectively.
Their experiences have been detailed in affidavits submitted to the Alice Springs Local Court in January and made public by Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory.
They described hot, overcrowded and poorly ventilated cells crammed with up to 20 women at a time.
There was often a shortage of mattresses to accommodate inmates and the only available drinking water was sourced from a tap above an often-clogged communal toilet.
"The cell really stinks and is disgusting. You cannot get away from the smell," Deanna's statement read.
"We don't get to go outside and do not get any exercise. We don't get fresh air at all.
"Sometimes the lights are on at night. There are arguments every day between the women."
More than 60 per cent of people who leave prison in the NT return with a new sentence within two years - the highest proportion in Australia.
About 70 per cent of people in prisons are on remand, meaning they are awaiting their trial or sentencing.
NT Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said on Monday an increase in remand prisoners had placed "considerable pressure" on the corrections system.
"Accommodating corrections prisoners in police watch houses is not our preference," he said.
"I am committed to handing back watch houses to NT Police as soon as possible and I have directed the Corrections Commissioner that this is a high priority."
Simone was held in the watch house for more than eight weeks from late November - aside from six nights in hospital due to back pain and ill health.
"I had pain on my back area and the doctors were worried about my kidneys," she said.
"I have often asked for pain medication but have only ever been given one Panadol at 5pm when it's convenient to the nurse."
After returning to the watch house, Simone said she had not been given enough food, including no fruit or vegetables, and was "hungry all the time".
"I have not been given bottled water and have to drink the water from above the toilet" she said.
"The water is warm or hot. This is disgusting and the sink is often filled with sick and other people's saliva."
The NT government is expected to introduce legislation to parliament this week to enable authorities to contract private and interstate prison guards as inmate numbers surge.
Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory convenor John Paterson condemned the treatment described in the women's affidavits.
"The inhumane conditions inside the Alice Springs watch house are a shocking violation of human rights," Dr Paterson said.
"Prisons in the Territory are too often sites of significant human rights abuses.
"The treatment of Aboriginal Territorians in custodial and correctional facilities have been identified and criticised through countless royal commissions for decades.
"No one deserves to be deprived of basic health care or denied access to clean drinking water.
"It is unacceptable, discriminatory and harmful, and has no place in the Territory or in Australia."
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