CAT/C/BGR/CO/6
(e)
Be promptly brought before a competent, independent and impartial
court within 48 hours of their apprehension;
(f)
Have the legality of their detention challenged through a habeas corpus
procedure and to have their detention recorded in a register at the place of detention
and in a central register of persons deprived of their liberty, which their lawyers and
family members can access, in line with the Body of Principles for the Protection of
All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.
Excessive use of force and impunity for acts of torture and ill-treatment
11.
The Committee is concerned at reports:
(a)
Of an increase, especially in Sofia and Burgas prisons, in the excessive use of
force, including in a deliberate manner, by law enforcement officials against persons upon
arrest and in police detention units, including women and juveniles, during administrative
detention and the subsequent preliminary investigation period;
(b)
That one out of every three persons detained in police stations is subjected to
physical abuse in police stations, which may be of such severity as to amount to torture and
may include beating, handcuffing to immovable objects and the use of truncheons and
electrical discharge weapons, and that the rate of physical abuse against persons belonging
to the Roma community is allegedly double the rate of abuse against ethnic Bulgarians;
(c)
Alleging that the police do not keep a registry on the use of force or special
means against detained persons and that there is no recording of injuries;
(d)
That police officers who use force unlawfully against persons who have been
arrested and detained are seldom prosecuted and punished and that those police officers
who are found guilty of torture or ill-treatment of detained persons are punished with
lenient penalties, such as fines or suspended sentences, since they are most often prosecuted
only for light bodily injury (arts. 2, 12–14 and 16).
12.
The State party should:
(a)
Issue a public statement at the highest level reaffirming unambiguously
that impunity for acts of torture and ill-treatment will not be tolerated; announce that
investigations will be carried out and prosecutions promptly initiated against
perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment, including against those with command
responsibility in all cases; and announce that anyone who commits acts of torture or is
otherwise complicit in or acquiesces to torture will be held personally responsible
before the law, and subject to criminal prosecution and appropriate penalties;
(b)
Implement and enforce the Ordinance on the use of force and special
means adopted by the Ministry of the Interior in 2015, and provide the Committee
with an update on the drafting of the methodological guidelines on the use of physical
force and special means;
(c)
Provide training to police and prison officers on the Basic Principles on
the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and on the Body of
Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or
Imprisonment;
(d)
Ensure that all reports of torture and ill-treatment by public officials,
including the police, are investigated promptly, effectively and impartially by a
nationwide independent mechanism, with no institutional or hierarchical connection
between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators;
(e)
Ensure that all persons under investigation for having committed acts of
torture or ill-treatment are immediately suspended from their duties and remain so
throughout the investigation, while ensuring that the principle of presumption of
innocence is observed;
(f)
Ensure that all interrogation rooms in detention centres in all parts of
the country have closed-circuit television and the equipment to ensure the video and
audio recording of interrogations; that tapes are made available to defendants and
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