CAT/C/MDV/CO/1
the Committee of the type of information recorded and of the specific measures taken
to ensure accurate record-keeping as an important safeguard against incommunicado
and arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance;
(c)
Monitor the compliance by all public officials with fundamental legal
safeguards, including by endeavouring to undertake video monitoring of all places of
deprivation of liberty and interrogation rooms;
(d)
Ensure effective oversight of the provision of safeguards and take
disciplinary measures against officials who fail to afford fundamental legal safeguards
to persons deprived of their liberty;
(e)
Provide information on the number of complaints received regarding the
failure to respect fundamental legal safeguards and on the outcome of such complaints
in the State party’s next report to the Committee.
Pretrial detention
27.
While taking note that article 47 (d) of the Constitution establishes the right of a
detained person to be brought within 24 hours before a judge, the Committee is concerned
at reports that pretrial detention periods are often lengthy and that detained persons are held
in custody for prolonged periods without judicial review, despite the fact that article 51 (b)
of the Constitution stipulates that everyone charged with an offence has the right to be tried
within a reasonable time. It is concerned that pretrial detention, in particular of political
opponents and activists, can be stalled deliberately without explanation and can last two or
more years, even if the sentence for the alleged offence would be much shorter.
Notwithstanding the information provided by the State party during the dialogue, the
Committee is concerned at credible reports from the Human Rights Commission that
juveniles are held with adults, in both the women’s jail and the men’s prisons (arts. 2, 11
and 16).
28.
The State party should:
(a)
Take all necessary measures to ensure that pretrial detention is closely
monitored so that it does not become a systematic and widespread practice, is not
arbitrarily prolonged and does not result in incommunicado detention;
(b)
Ensure that it is possible to appeal decisions on pretrial detention and for
the legality of pretrial detention to be reviewed by a court of law;
(c)
Monitor the use of pretrial detention and ensure that pretrial detainees
are held separately from convicted prisoners, that juveniles are not held with adults
and that pretrial detention is used as a measure of last resort;
(d)
Promote alternatives to pretrial detention, in accordance with the United
Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules).
Violence against women
29.
The Committee is concerned at the persistence of violence against women, in
particular domestic violence, especially against women and girls, and the small number of
prosecutions of perpetrators of such acts. It is also concerned about the absence of due
diligence, effective protection mechanisms and rehabilitation for victims of domestic
violence. In addition, the Committee is concerned that while the Penal Code criminalizes
marital rape, it also formally provides a rebuttable presumption of innocence in the case of
allegations of sexual offences committed against married women and girls by their
husbands and establishes a high burden of proof for the conviction of a man of rape in the
absence of a confession (arts. 2 and 16).
30.
The State party should ensure the full implementation of the Domestic Violence
Act and exercise due diligence, in particular by encouraging victims to file complaints;
establish a protection mechanism for victims, including by setting up shelters;
investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of domestic violence; provide redress
to victims and psychological rehabilitation and counselling; and conduct awarenessraising campaigns about the negative effects of domestic violence. It should also
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