A/HRC/40/59/Add.3 55. The methods reportedly used included suffocation with gas masks, dislocation of joints, electric shocks and mock executions. Interviewees also reported having received death threats, against both themselves and their families, and having been systematically denied access to medical care. 56. Some interviewees, both men and women, reported having been subjected to sexual violence. Beatings and electrocution in the genital area, forced nudity, threats of rape and, in one case, actual rape were allegedly used as methods of torture and ill-treatment to punish, humiliate or extract confessions. To increase the pressure, the perpetrators allegedly threatened also to detain, abduct, rape, injure or kill relatives of the victims, especially their children. 57. Interviewees also reported having been subjected to excessive use of force during apprehension, often not being granted access to legal counsel until they confessed or incriminated themselves. In many cases, the detainees were allegedly blindfolded or hooded, which made it nearly impossible to identify the perpetrators and hindered the lodging of complaints. 58. Exposure to torture was reported to continue until the detainees signed selfincriminating statements. In some instances, confessions extracted under torture were videotaped and later shown on Ukrainian television broadcasts. In some cases, such torturetainted evidence has been admitted by the courts, in clear violation of the exclusionary rule, which constitutes a cornerstone of the prevention of torture (Convention against Torture, art. 15). 3. Ineffective investigation of complaints of torture and ill-treatment 59. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the measures taken by the authorities to investigate cases of torture and other ill-treatment, most notably by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. However, despite persistent allegations of systematic torture and other illtreatment, notably made in relation to the aftermath of the conflict of 2014, formal investigations and prosecutions of such allegations appear to be rare, thus creating a strong perception of de facto impunity for acts of torture and other ill-treatment. According to official data, in the first nine months of 2018, 563 criminal proceedings were initiated regarding alleged cases of torture by the law enforcement authorities. However, only 27 indictments were referred to court against 47 persons, of which 2 were under article 127 of the Criminal Code (torture), 23 came under article 365 (2) (excess of authority or official powers), and 2 were under other articles of the Code. At the same time, Ukraine lost 73 cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights between 2014 and 2018 under article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of torture). The low number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions for the specific crime of torture seems to point to an insufficient determination on the part of the relevant authorities to ensure criminal accountability for such abuse. 60. In some of the institutions visited, the Special Rapporteur noted a perceptible reluctance on the part of victims to speak about ill-treatment, which was reportedly both because of their fear of reprisals and because of their general distrust in the ability and willingness of the judicial authorities to hear their claims. 61. A large number of detainees claimed that they had complained about police torture and/or ill-treatment to the judge before whom they had been brought after apprehension, but that the judge had simply ignored their complaint, despite the fact that they displayed visible injuries. Furthermore, several interviewees who had filed a complaint with the Office of the Prosecutor General regarding acts of torture reported that law enforcement officials had attempted to intimidate them or their relatives, pressuring them to withdraw their complaints. 62. The Special Rapporteur further found that lawyers, police officers, prosecutors and judges seemed to lack the requisite knowledge of how to investigate and document allegations of ill-treatment and torture. Consequently, victims of torture or other ill-treatment are often confronted with inaction from State authorities. Furthermore, the forensic expert accompanying the mission noted that even medical personnel often lacked the expertise to conduct efficient and genuine documentation of acts of torture and other ill-treatment. Furthermore, there are essentially no State rehabilitation services. Consequently, services for 10