CAT/OP/PER/1 17. The Subcommittee recommends taking measures to bring conditions of detention in police stations and judicial police holding cells into line with international standards and to ensure that they satisfy detainees’ basic needs regarding sanitation, bedding, food, water and possibilities for recreation, taking into account the length of their stay. The Subcommittee recommends in particular renovating the judicial police holding cells and those in specialized police units, where detainees may be held for several days. 2. Medical examinations 18. By law, all detainees must be examined by a doctor from the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Nevertheless, some detainees interviewed by the Subcommittee claimed that they had not been examined. Others stated that the examination had been extremely brief and superficial and had been conducted in front of police officers, and that the results had been transmitted to the police. 19. During the Subcommittee’s visit to the judicial police holding cell in Lima, four detainees with injuries were admitted to the Medical Service, which is staffed by a nurse. Although their injuries were noted on their medical records, there was no mention of their possible cause or any follow-up action. In addition, in one of these cases not all the injuries described on the holding cell admission form were entered in the medical record. 20. Medical examinations of persons admitted to detention centres and the proper reporting of injuries found during those examinations constitute important guarantees of the prevention of torture and ill-treatment and in combating impunity. 6 They can also protect police officers and prison staff against false allegations. It is recommended that such examinations be conducted in private by a health professional who is trained to describe and draw up a detailed and independent report of injuries, including medical and psychological aspects. The results should be kept confidential from police officers and prison staff and should be shared only with the detainee or their lawyer, in accordance with the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol). In the event of allegations of ill-treatment and/or torture, the public prosecutor should be informed and the person deprived of their liberty should be given a full examination. The Institute of Forensic Medicine should draw up a form in line with the Istanbul Protocol, to be used when examining persons claiming to have suffered torture or ill-treatment. 3. Torture and ill-treatment 21. The Subcommittee heard testimony from individuals and representatives of civil society organizations about cases of torture and ill-treatment inflicted during police operations. It was stated that the purpose of these practices is not to investigate crimes, but rather to punish and intimidate individuals, for example in cases related to social protests. Beatings and verbal abuse are the methods mainly used. The Subcommittee heard accounts of threats, extortion, attacks and scare tactics employed against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons — some of whom were not even under arrest — to clearly discriminatory ends. The testimony implicated not only members of the national police force but also members of Serenazgo, a civilian security service. 22. Many of the persons deprived of their liberty who were interviewed, both minors and adults, reported having been beaten by the police, some severely, some less so, either at the time of their arrest or at the police station. While some said they had been subjected to slaps and verbal abuse, others described beatings, including punches and kicks to the head, chest and other parts of the body, by police officers using their bare hands or objects such as rubber truncheons or the butt of a gun, in some cases while the victim was handcuffed. Some reported that they had been beaten for purposes of extortion. 23. The Subcommittee was also informed of incidents of excessive and disproportionate use of force in arrests at demonstrations. In particular, the Subcommittee was informed of 6 GE.17-13638 Committee against Torture, general comment No. 2, para. 13. 5