CAT/C/YEM/CO/2
law as set out in article 1 of the Convention (CAT/C/CR/31/4, para. 6 (a)). The Committee
is concerned that the current definition in the Constitution prohibits torture only as a means
of coercing a confession during arrest, investigation, detention and imprisonment, and that
punishment is limited to individuals who order or carry out acts of torture and does not
extend to individuals who are otherwise complicit in such acts. The Committee is also
concerned that, while the Constitution provides that crimes involving physical or
psychological torture should not be subject to a statute of limitations, the criminal
procedure law may include a statute of limitations (arts. 1 and 4).
The State party should incorporate the crime of torture into domestic law and adopt a
definition of torture that covers all of the elements contained in article 1 of the
Convention. By naming and defining the offence of torture in accordance with the
Convention and distinct from other crimes, the Committee considers that States
parties will directly advance the Convention’s overarching aim of preventing torture
by, inter alia, alerting everyone, including perpetrators, victims and the public to the
special gravity of the crime of torture, and by improving the deterrent effect of the
prohibition itself. The State party is requested to clarify to the Committee whether
acts of torture are subject to a statute of limitations; if so, the State party should
review its rules and provisions on the statute of limitations and bring them into line
fully with the Constitution and the State party’s obligations under the Convention.
3.
Impunity for acts of torture and ill-treatment
8.
The Committee is deeply concerned at the numerous allegations, corroborated by a
number of Yemeni and international sources, of a widespread practice of torture and illtreatment of detainees in Yemeni prisons, including State security prisons run by the Public
Security Department, the national security authority and the Department of Anti-Terrorism
under the Ministry of the Interior. The Committee is further concerned that such allegations
are seldom investigated and prosecuted, and that there appears to be a climate of impunity
for perpetrators of acts of torture. In this respect, the Committee expresses its concern at
article 26 of the code of criminal procedure, which appear to provide that criminal lawsuits
may not be filed against a law enforcement officer or a public employee for any crime
committed while carrying out his job or caused thereby, except with the permission of the
General Prosecutor, a delegated public attorney or heads of prosecution, and at the lack of
information on the application of this provision (arts. 2, 4, 12 and 16).
As a matter of urgency, the State party should take immediate steps to prevent acts of
torture and ill-treatment throughout the country and to announce a policy of
eradication of torture and ill-treatment by State officials.
The State party should ensure that all allegations of torture and ill-treatment are
investigated promptly, effectively and impartially, and that the perpetrators are
prosecuted and convicted in accordance with the gravity of the acts, as required by
article 4 of the Convention.
The State party is requested to clarify to the Committee whether article 26 of the code
of criminal procedure is still in force and, if so, how the provision is applied in
practice.
4.
Fundamental legal safeguards
9.
The Committee remains seriously concerned at the State party’s failure in practice to
afford all detainees, including detainees held in State security prisons, with all fundamental
legal safeguards from the very outset of their detention. Such safeguards comprise the right
to have prompt access to a lawyer and an independent medical examination, to notify a
relative, and to be informed of their rights at the time of detention, including about the
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