E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.2 page 14 about the circumstances involving the arrest, such as excessive use of force or racist behaviour, and about the duration of detention; information was not provided about the whereabouts of detainees. Complaints also referred to ill-treatment, incommunicado detention, and problems relating to access to medical assistance. 43. The Ombudswoman reported on the monitoring of new initiatives. Relatives of persons detained said the situation regarding information had not improved since the Protocol for coordination of assistance to individuals held in incommunicado detention (2003) was adopted. The main limitation of the Protocol was that it did not prevent or clarify the most frequent allegations of ill-treatment, including deprivation of sleep, threats, questioning without lawyers, etc. Her Office would verify that audio-visual equipment was used at all places of detention, including incommunicado detention, and would monitor its use. It was too early to assess the effectiveness of the certificate of quality for procedures of detention to which all Basque police stations would be subject. C. Investigations, prosecutions and reparations 44. Many interlocutors emphasized the sensitivity of Spanish society to attacks on human dignity and integrity, with torture and ill-treatment arousing particular revulsion. They explained that this was a result of Spain’s history during the Franco regime when human rights violations were perpetrated by the State with impunity. They stressed that democracy and the rule of law were well established in modern-day Spain. Because of its past, Spain’s institutions had created the necessary safeguards to prevent such violations and would deal with any perpetrators appropriately. They cited the case of two high-ranking officials who were found guilty of illegal detention and murder of ETA suspects in 1983 and who were currently serving sentences for their crimes as proof that the Spanish criminal justice system would act in accordance with the law regardless of the rank of the perpetrator.12 45. According to information received, the legal framework, to which the Special Rapporteur referred above, has not been successful in eliminating torture or ill-treatment, which allegedly continues to be common. As discussed above, the legal framework has gaps allowing conditions where torture can take place, thereby denying full protection and guarantees for detainees. Non-governmental sources pointed to the role of the judicial process in perpetuating impunity the pattern of nominal sentences for law enforcement officers convicted of torture or ill-treatment, the availability of pardons,13 lax enforcement of sentences, discrepancies in standards of forensic medical reporting, as well as the continued practice of incommunicado detention - as contributory factors in the failure to eradicate torture and ill-treatment. The length of the judicial process is reportedly often so great that by the time a trial opens, accused officers may not be tried because the statute of limitations for the offence has expired. 46. In this context, the Special Rapporteur requested statistics in regard to the number of allegations of torture received, the results of the investigations, the disciplinary measures applied, and pardons granted (see paragraph 48). During a meeting a representative of the Civil Guard stated that there had been no convictions for torture or ill-treatment in the last few years with regard to anti-terrorism measures; the many allegations of torture were part of ETA’s strategy against the State.