A/HRC/13/39/Add.4 or suffering from being inflicted on a person in custody. A public official, who, in carrying out his duties, becomes aware of an act of torture, is obliged to report it immediately. If he or she fails to do so, prison terms between six months and six years as well as a fine of 300.000 CFA can be imposed. Although the definition of torture contained in Act No. 6/2006 does not exactly mirror the definition of the United Nations Convention against Torture, the catch-all clause at the end of the definition in article 4 (”or for any other purpose”) is broad enough to cover also acts of torture that are, e.g., inflicted on the basis of discrimination. 17. The Penal Code, the former Spanish Criminal Code adopted in 1963, does not contain a provision prohibiting torture; however, article 187 provides for suspension from duty for: para. 3. a prison official or any other civil servant who conceals a detainee from the judicial authorities. 4. a prison official who, without order from the judicial authority, takes a detainee or a convicted (sentenciado incommunicado) to a place which is not an official place of detention. 5. a prison official who imposes unnecessary limitations on detainees and treats them with unnecessary severity. The same sanction must be applied to a judicial authority that decides or prolongs unnecessarily the isolation of a detainee (article 188(3)). 3. (a) Safeguards and jurisdictional issues Safeguards 18. Article 13 of the Constitution provides inter alia that individuals may be deprived of their liberty only by means of a judicial warrant, except in cases established by law or flagrante delicto cases. Every prisoner must be informed of the reasons and grounds for his or her detention. The presumption of innocence is recognized until guilt is proven in judicial proceedings. A sentence can only be pronounced on the basis of a trial. The rights to a defence attorney and to legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings are also guaranteed. In addition, this constitutional provision foresees the right to file complaints and petitions and the writ of habeas corpus and amparo. 19. Article 520 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act of 14 September 1882, applied in Equatorial Guinea pursuant to Decree-Law No.4/1980, provides that the treatment of a prisoner, whether convicted or in pre-trial detention, must cause the least possible suffering for the person in question and for his or her reputation. It also defines possible restrictions on freedoms and communications, and article 521 stipulates that prisoners must be separated according to sex, age, education and criminal record. Extraordinary security measures shall only be applied in case of disobedience, violence, rebellion or attempts of escape and only for the time strictly necessary (article 525). Visits by family members, representatives of the detainee’s religion, a doctor and other related persons have to be authorized according to the prison regulations (“reglamento de carceles”). Whereas communication with a defense lawyer cannot be prohibited (article 523), any correspondence and communication other than that of a detainee must be authorized by an investigative judge (article 524). 20. The Criminal Procedure Act states that detention in isolation during pre-trial detention should generally not exceed 5 days, last only for the period absolutely necessary for investigation purposes (article 506), which may be prolonged for another three days by judicial order (article 508). Article 480 of the Penal Code prohibits illegal detention. Law No. 18/1995 stipulates that persons who consider themselves unjustly detained must have access to a judge (first instance or investigative judge), who shall rule without delay on the legality of the detention. Article 3 lists cases of illegal detention, for example when guarantees have not been respected or established procedures have not been followed, when 8

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