A/HRC/19/61/Add.2 the ill-treatment occurred. The Special Rapporteur was told that the use of torture by the criminal investigation police was exacerbated by the heavy reliance on confessions in the judicial system. 39. The Special Rapporteur has concluded that, in the immediate aftermath of the violence of June 2010, there was a significant increase of continued arbitrary arrests and detentions, incidents of forced confession under the use of torture and ill-treatment during arrest and while in detention, denial of access to a lawyer of one’s choosing, denial of independent medical aid, threats and extortion of money in exchange for dropping or mitigating charges. These incidents, usually committed by the operative-investigating officers of the Ministry of the Interior during the first hours of apprehension and interrogation, continued to be widespread throughout 2011. 40. The commission of acts of torture was further facilitated by the lack of effective safeguards during the first hours of arrest, non-compliance with regulations requiring the prompt registration of persons arrested, failure to notify family members immediately following an arrest, delayed independent medical examinations and the complicity of Stateappointed lawyers with investigators who offer a purely token presence and who are seen as being formally present to rubberstamp the decisions of the investigator. 41. On the basis of the information received and interviews conducted with relatives of victims, the Special Rapporteur concludes that the deaths in custody reported and lack of accountability for them were not isolated instances. Independent investigations launched into deaths in custody are the exception rather than the rule. 7 In addition, relatives of the victims often come under pressure from the police to withdraw their complaints or to settle and have the case closed. 42. The authorities of the Ministry of the Interior were unable to provide precise statistics on the number of deaths in custody; they did, however, list the main causes of deaths, including suicides and alcohol and drug overdoses. In terms of procedure, the Special Rapporteur was informed that a forensic examination was performed and investigation was initiated into the circumstances of the death. According to the statistics provided by the State Service for the Execution of Punishments, during the period 20072011, there was a decrease in the number of deaths in penitentiary institutions and pretrial detention facilities under the oversight of the Service. Of 151 deaths in 2007, five were caused by bodily injuries; in 2010, there were only two deaths of pretrial detainees caused by bodily injuries out of 90; and in the first 11 months of 2011, of 81 deaths, five were caused by bodily injuries: one in the pretrial period, and four post-conviction. B. Lack of effective safeguards and prevention 43. The Special Rapporteur has concluded that there is a serious lack of effective safeguards during the first hours of detention. Owing to the failure to register suspects at the time of apprehension, persons deprived of their liberty are extremely vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment, given that it is during this time when basic safeguards are generally not provided for in practice and the arrested person remains without any protection. 1. Unrecorded detention and denial of access to lawyers 44. In all places visited, the dates of arrest, transfer to other facilities and release from custody were properly registered and records maintained. Most detainees indicated that they had seen judges and prosecutors and that, in most cases, “duty lawyers” were present 7 See CCPR/C/94/D/1275/2004. 11