CAT/C/BGR/CO/6
penalties for torture are commensurate with the gravity of this crime, as set out in
article 4 (2) of the Convention. The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its
general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2, in which it states
that serious discrepancies between the Convention’s definition and that incorporated
into domestic law create actual or potential loopholes for impunity. The State party
should ensure that the absolute prohibition of torture is non-derogable and that acts
of torture are not subject to any statute of limitations.
Fundamental legal safeguards
9.
The Committee remains concerned about:
(a)
The continued existence of 24-hour administrative detention, which falls
outside the scope of criminal proceedings, before arrested persons detained in police
stations are formally charged with a criminal offence, and during which they are questioned
by the police, often without having access to a lawyer and when they are most vulnerable to
abuse by law enforcement officials;
(b)
Reports that arrested persons are often not informed about their rights in
criminal proceedings, including that of access to a lawyer; that they are actively
discouraged by manipulation, threats and ill-treatment from accessing rights contained in
the letter of rights; that more than 70 per cent of detained persons do not have access to a
lawyer from the very outset of criminal proceedings; and that some do not have legal
representation throughout the criminal proceedings against them;
(c)
The fact that detained persons most often have access to a lawyer only at the
end of the 24-hour administrative detention period and that such meetings take place in the
presence of a police officer;
(d)
Reports that public defenders on call selected from the national legal aid
registry are not independent from the police and that there is no guarantee that detained
persons will receive the assistance of the public defender of their choice;
(e)
Reports that injuries observed on persons admitted to investigation detention
facilities are not recorded in the medical records, that medical examinations often take
place in the presence of police officers, and that the results of medical examinations are
recorded poorly or not at all (arts. 2, 12–14 and 16).
10.
The State party should ensure that all fundamental legal safeguards against
torture are guaranteed in practice and not merely in law for all detained persons,
including arrested persons and those in administrative detention, from the outset of
their deprivation of liberty, in accordance with international standards. The State
party should monitor the provision of such safeguards to persons deprived of their
liberty and should ensure that any official who fails to provide them in practice is
subjected to disciplinary or other appropriate punishment. Safeguards should cover
the right of detainees to:
(a)
Be promptly informed, in a language that they understand, both orally
and in writing, of their rights, including by being served with the written letter of
rights; be given the reasons for their arrest and the charges against them; and to sign
a paper confirming that they have understood the information provided to them;
(b)
Have prompt and confidential access to a lawyer who is independent
from the police, or to free legal aid when needed, from the outset of the deprivation of
liberty, including during the 24-hour administrative detention period, as well as
during all stages of detention;
(c)
Request and receive a medical examination in confidentiality by an
independent doctor as well as to undergo an entry medical examination within 24
hours of their arrival in a place of detention and to have any injuries upon arrival and
the results of their medical examination duly recorded in their medical record;
(d)
Promptly contact a family member or any other person of their choice
about their detention immediately after apprehension;
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