CAT/C/CR/34/BHR
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(c)
The large number of allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment of detainees committed prior to 2001;
(d)
Reports of incommunicado detention of detained persons following the
ratification of the Convention and prior to 2001, for extended periods, particularly during
pre-trial investigations;
(e)
The inadequate access to external legal advice while in police custody, to medical
assistance and to family members, thereby reducing the safeguards available to detainees;
(f)
The apparent failure to investigate promptly, impartially and fully the numerous
allegations of torture and ill-treatment and to prosecute alleged offenders, and in particular the
pattern of impunity for torture and other ill-treatment committed by law enforcement personnel
in the past;
(g)
The blanket amnesty extended to all alleged perpetrators of torture or other crimes
by Decree No. 56 of 2002 and the lack of redress available to victims of torture;
(h)
The inadequate availability in practice of civil compensation and rehabilitation for
victims of torture prior to 2001;
(i)
Certain provisions of the draft law on counter-terrorism which, if adopted,
would reduce safeguards against torture and could re-establish conditions that characterized past
abuses under the State Security Law. These provisions include, inter alia, the broad and vague
definition of terrorism and terrorist organizations and the transfer from the judiciary to the public
prosecutor of authority to arrest and detain, in particular, to extend pre-trial detention;
(j)
Lack of access by independent monitors to visit and inspect all places of detention
without prior notice, notwithstanding the assurances of the State party that it will allow some
access by civil society organizations;
(k)
The absence of data on complaints of torture and ill-treatment, and the results of
investigations or prosecutions related to the provisions of the Convention;
(l)
Information received regarding limits on human rights non-governmental
organizations to conduct their work, in particular regarding activities relevant to the Convention,
within the country and abroad;
(m)
The different regimes applicable, in law and in practice, to nationals and
foreigners in relation to their legal right to be free from conduct that violates the Convention.
The Committee reminds the State party that the Convention and its protections are applicable
to all acts that are in violation of the Convention that occur within its jurisdiction, from which
it follows that all persons are entitled, in equal measure and without discrimination, to the rights
contained therein;
(n)
The rejection by the House of Deputies in March 2005 of the proposal to establish
an independent national human rights commission;