The Special Rapporteur also noted that “judges are widely seen as formally present at the criminal process, but mainly to rubberstamp decisions of investigating officers or prosecutors rather than take a genuine interest in following up on torture allegations”87. For this reason, he advised that the immediate consideration by courts of any complaints on torture and ill treatment should be ensured ex officio without the need to submit a relevant motion by the defence lawyer.88 Of 192 detainees in TDFs under internal affairs bodies who told the monitors that they had been tortured only 70 individuals (36.5%) raised official torture complaints during judicial authorization of arrest hearings. In 66 cases (94.3%), no response followed from judges to complaints about torture made by defendants. In two cases judges confined themselves to simply asking who used torture against the defendants. One judge summoned the investigator and “issued a reprimand,” while another judge “enjoined the prosecutor to carry out an investigation with respect to the defendant’s complaints about torture.” From a monitoring group report: “The judge said ‘you can file a written complaint against the police officers when the case files come to court’.”89 From a monitoring group report: “The judge asked where my bruises came from. I was afraid of the operative officers who were standing close to me, and said that I just fell down.”90 From a monitoring group report: When I said that I was beaten, the judge said, ‘you should have said it earlier’.”91 As reported by respondents, no response from prosecutors followed complaints about torture made by defendants during trial proceedings. Thus, during 63 out of the 70 trial hearings, prosecutors did not respond to such complaints. In one case, the prosecutor asked the defendant who exactly had beaten him, and in another case he asked for a written copy of the statement to be submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office. It was in one case only that a prosecutor assigned a forensic examination. In the course of four trial hearings on selecting a pre-trial restrictive measure, the prosecutor was not present.92 From a monitoring group report: “When I said that I was beaten, the prosecutor came up and examined me, and told the judge that everything was all right, and I was just trying to avoid punishment.”93 87 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture, para. 52. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture, para. 80 (b). 89 Monitoring group report, No. 5-9/4. 90 Monitoring group report, No. 3-2/3. 91 Monitoring group reports, No. 5-7/15, 1-4/1. 92 Monitoring group reports, No. 7-1/2, 7-2/5, 3-1/9, 3-1/4. 93 Monitoring group report, No. Р15-d. 88 66