3 Steps taken in previous years Situation in during visit in 2005 (See A/HRC/4/33/Add.2, A/HRC/7/3/Add.2, Information received in the (See E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6) A/HRC/10/44/Add.5 and A/HRC/16/52/Add.2) reporting period procuratorate‘s approval of arrest as a mechanism to prevent torture.3 The regulations oblige the procuratorate to hear and question suspects directly when making the assessment in five circumstances, including when the suspect asks to be heard, is underage, or there are clues or evidence that torture or other unlawful means were used during initial police investigations. Previously such direct hearings could only take place in major cases where the evidence against the suspect was questionable. - It is reported that in practice individuals are often held in police detention for periods longer than allowed for by law prior to and following arrest. It is reported that during this time, which in some cases may last in excess of a year and for some many years, individuals may not be able to hire a lawyer, may not have access to their family, and with family members not even being informed of their whereabouts. - Amendments to the State Compensation Law adopted in April 2010, to take effect in December 2010 also provide (Article 17) that those illegally detained or detained beyond the time limits stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Law and subsequently are not prosecuted or are acquitted, have the right to compensation. - It is reported that in the last few years numerous cases of death in custody as well as the numerous miscarriages of justice resulting from confessions coerced through torture and other ill-treatment were reported in the Chinese media, leading to a public outcry within the country. This reportedly led the Supreme People‘s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security to carry out an inspection campaign Supreme People‘s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, ―Regulations on Questioning Criminal Suspects in the Approval of Arrest Phase‖. Issued on 31 August 2010, effective from 1 October 2010. Available at http://florasapio.blogspot.com ―Criminal suspects – hearing - arrest approval‖. A/HRC/19/61/Add.3 10 Recommendation (E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6)