CAT/OP/BRA/1 (b) Right to inform a third party of detention 65. The right of persons deprived of their liberty to inform a person of their choice about their detention represents a basic safeguard against torture and ill-treatment.26 The SPT found several cases in which persons deprived of their liberty had not been able to inform a third person of their choice about their detention for prolonged periods of time. 66. The SPT recommends that persons deprived of their liberty be allowed to notify or to require the competent authority to notify a person of their choice of their detention and of the place in which they are being held. Such notification shall take place promptly after their initial detention or arrest and also after any transfer from one place of detention to another. Ideally, this notification shall be given by means of a phone call, and the date and time of this phone call, as well as the identity of the person notified, shall be registered. (c) Right to legal assistance 67. A detainee must have the right to legal assistance of his/her own choosing, 27 and from the outset of detention.28 An independent legal representative should be entitled to be present and assist the detainee during all police interviews and during appearances before a judge, as a fundamental safeguard against torture and ill-treatment. If a detainee has been subjected to torture or ill-treatment, this access to defence will facilitate the right to complaint, in addition to performing a preventive function. 68. The SPT recommends that the authorities ensure that persons deprived of liberty are consistently informed of their right to have access to a lawyer of their choice, that they can be provided with free legal aid services, and that they be able to freely exercise this right from the outset of their deprivation of liberty, and throughout the entire criminal procedure. 29 (d) Categories of detainees 69. The SPT encountered situations where detainees were being kept in police facilities together with persons who had already been sentenced and should have been placed in a closed or semi-open regime for sentenced prisoners. The SPT recalls that the separation of accused persons from convicted persons is an important obligation under international law.30 70. The SPT recommends that the State party ensure the effective separation of detainees and sentenced prisoners, and that police detention be reduced to a minimum, including for remand detainees. Convicted persons should not be held together with the accused, and should be transferred as appropriate. (e) Duration of police detention 71. The SPT found persons being held in police facilities for very long periods of time, sometimes more than one year. In some cases, lengthy detention coincided with the fact 26 27 28 29 30 12 CAT/C/GC/2, para. 13; Body of Principles, principle 16 (1). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), art. 14, para. 3(d). CAT/C/GC/2, para. 13. Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers), Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 1990, principle 7. ICCPR, art. 10, para. 2.