CAT/C/TJK/CO/3 persons for “conversations” or as witnesses to police stations in order to limit or prevent their contact with legal representatives and family members, who find themselves in unrecorded detention before official criminal charges are brought against them. The Committee also remains concerned that apprehended persons do not undergo an independent medical examination upon admission to police stations and temporary detention facilities, that an official central register is not maintained at all stages of detention and that the 72-hour period of pre-charge police custody has not been reduced to 48 hours (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). 18. The State party should: (a) Take effective measures to guarantee that all detained persons, including minors, are afforded in practice all the fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty, in accordance with international standards, including the safeguards mentioned in paragraphs 13 and 14 of the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2. In particular, it should ensure that detainees have the following safeguards: (i) To be informed about the charges against them and about their rights, both orally and in writing, in a language that they understand, and to sign a paper confirming that they have understood the information provided to them; (ii) To have all periods of deprivation of liberty accurately recorded immediately after apprehension or arrest in a register at the place of detention, including for persons in administrative detention and those invited informally to police stations for “conversations” or as witnesses and who are subsequently detained without official status before official charges are brought against them, as well as in a central register of persons deprived of liberty, to have detention reports drawn up accordingly to prevent any cases of unrecorded detention, and to ensure access to the register of detainees by their respective lawyers and relatives; (iii) To have prompt access to a lawyer from the very outset of deprivation of liberty, and, if necessary, to legal aid, including during the initial interrogation; (iv) To receive a medical examination conducted confidentially by an independent doctor within 24 hours of arriving in a place of detention, and to have the right to request and receive, at any time, an independent medical examination. The State party should guarantee in practice the independence of doctors and other medical staff dealing with persons deprived of liberty, ensure that such staff duly document all signs and allegations of torture or illtreatment, provide a copy of the results of the medical examination without delay to competent appropriate authorities for further investigation and make them available to the detained person concerned and his or her lawyer; (v) To be able to notify a family member or any other person of their own choice of their detention immediately after apprehension and not only after seeing a judge; (b) Bring all detained persons promptly before a judge, in line with international standards, and reduce the 72-hour period of pre-charge police custody; (c) Start monitoring the effective implementation of these recommendations by collecting data on the performance of the police concerning the provision of fundamental safeguards to persons deprived of their liberty, including comprehensive data on cases in which police officers have been subjected to disciplinary or other measures for failing to respect such safeguards, and should provide this information in its next report to the Committee. Access to independent lawyers 19. The Committee is concerned that recent amendments to the Bar and Advocacy Act have given the Ministry of Justice undue influence over the qualifications commission responsible for licensing lawyers and have led to a dramatic drop in the number of lawyers 5