- 44 92. The Committee also expresses its concern about the following: (a) The failure to define torture in domestic law in conformity with article 1 of the Convention. The designation of torture as an aggravating circumstance for some enumerated crimes does not satisfy the requirements of articles 1 and 4 of the Convention; (b) The numerous cases of convictions based on confessions and the law enforcement promotion system based on the percentage of crimes solved, which, taken together, reportedly create conditions that promote the use of torture and ill-treatment to force detainees to “confess”; (c) The lack of adequate access for persons deprived of liberty, immediately after they are apprehended, to counsel, doctor and family members, an all-important safeguard against torture; (d) The de facto refusal of judges to take account of evidence of torture and ill-treatment provided by the accused, resulting in the common to either investigate or prosecute such cases; (e) The explanation by the State party that, despite numerous allegations of violence against women in custody, no formal complaint has been received on this issue. Despite the State party’s efforts to release prisoners and reduce their number in general, the population of women in custody has doubled in the past decade; (f) The lack of practical training about obligations under the Convention for doctors, law enforcement personnel and judges, and the military; (g) Distressing conditions of pre-trial detention, including the prevalence of tuberculosis and other diseases, as well as the poor and unsupervised conditions of detention in IVS (temporary police detention), and SIZOs (pre-trial establishment) facilities, including the practice of placing metal shutters in front of cell windows, preventing natural light and ventilation in the cells, reportedly because, by law, inmates are prohibited from communicating with one another; (h) The insufficient level of independence and effectiveness of the Procuracy, due, as recognized by the State party, to the problems posed by the dual responsibility of the Procuracy for prosecution and oversight of the proper conduct of investigations; (i) Reports of conditions amounting to inhuman or degrading treatment, of children in institutions or places of detention; (j) A lack of safeguards to ensure that persons are not returned to countries where they face a real risk of torture (non-refoulement).

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