CAT/C/MDV/CO/1 of perpetrators of torture or ill-treatment violate the principle of non-derogability. The Committee is also concerned that the Anti-Torture Act requires that the perpetrator of torture be convicted before civil liability can be awarded in favour of the victim, as confirmed by the delegation during the dialogue (arts. 1, 2, 4 and 14). 22. The State party should amend the Penal Code in order to ensure that there is no statute of limitations for the crime of torture. The State party should also ensure that pardon, amnesty and any other similar measures leading to impunity for acts of torture are prohibited both in law and in practice. Furthermore, the State party should amend the Anti-Torture Act to allow for the civil liability of the perpetrator in favour of the victim, even if the perpetrator has not been prosecuted or convicted. Deaths in custody 23. The Committee is concerned that the 23 deaths in custody investigated by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, all of which are alleged to have resulted from natural causes, do not reflect the total number of actual deaths in custody that have occurred during the relevant time period. Additionally, the Committee is seriously concerned that seven cases of unexplained deaths in custody were reported to the Commission between August 2016 and October 2017 and at reports of deaths in custody owing to lack of medical care and medicines (arts. 2, 11, 12, 13 and 16). 24. The State party should investigate promptly, thoroughly and impartially all deaths in custody and ensure that perpetrators are punished appropriately and that the families of the deceased receive compensation. The State party should seek to ensure the possibility for independent forensic examinations to be undertaken into cases of death in custody, with a view to determining whether State officials are responsible, and ensure that courts in the State party accept the results of independent forensic examinations and autopsies as evidence in criminal and civil cases. The State party should ensure that all cases of death in custody are recorded and that all relevant data about the victim, circumstances of death and resulting investigation is gathered and published and take the measures necessary to prevent such deaths in police and prison establishments. Fundamental legal safeguards 25. While welcoming the publication in 10 languages of booklets and posters on the rights of detained persons at the time of arrest, published with the assistance of the Special Fund of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Committee is concerned at reports that persons deprived of their liberty by the police or the National Defence Force often do not enjoy fundamental legal safeguards from the outset of their deprivation of liberty, such as not being informed about the reasons for their arrest and detention at the time of arrest; the absence of interpreters for persons who do not speak Dhivehi; not having access to a lawyer for up to 48 hours; not having access to a judge for 48 hours without being charged; not being informed of their right to undergo a medical examination or being refused that right by the police; and being allowed to make only one local telephone call following their arrest. The Committee is also concerned that legal aid may not be available for indigent persons (art. 2). 26. The State party should: (a) Guarantee that all detained persons are afforded, in law and in practice, all fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty, including the right to be informed immediately of the charges against them; have prompt access to a lawyer or to free legal aid during all proceedings; the right to notify a relative or another person of their choice about their detention or arrest; the right to request and receive a medical examination from an independent doctor, including by a doctor of their choice upon request; and the right to have their deprivation of liberty recorded in registers at all stages; (b) Establish a central register of detention regarding all persons at all stages of their deprivation of liberty, including transfers to different facilities; inform 6