Belgrade Military Prison 171. One inmate was interviewed in this prison. He had been arrested on charges of desertion. He made no allegations of torture or ill-treatment. 2. Police stations 172. The members of the Committee visited nine police stations, namely those at Bozidura Adzije, Rakovica, Vozdovac, Palilula, 29 November, Stari Grad and Milan Rakic Streets in Belgrade, the Smederevo main police station and the central police station in Novi Sad. At the time of the visit there were two detainees in Vozdovac, one in Milan Rakic and one in Smederevo. None of them reported having been tortured or ill-treated. At the 29 November police station there was only one old man in the detention area; he did not allege any maltreatment. One member of the Committee spoke with two alleged illegal immigrants who were waiting to see the judge for misdemeanours; they indicated that they had been treated well. B. Information submitted by non-governmental organizations 173. Representatives of NGOs with whom the Committee members met provided information on cases of torture brought to their attention by the alleged victims. In their view, massive violations of the right to freedom from torture had not been registered since the change of Government. However, the frequency with which law enforcement officers resorted to excessive force in the performance of their duty remained a matter of concern. They said that much remained to be done regarding the training of law enforcement personnel on human rights matters and that further personnel changes in the police had to be carried out in order to make a clear break with the practices of the former regime and restore public confidence in law enforcement agencies. They reported that torture was frequently used as a means of extracting information. However, in many instances torture was due to the mentality prevailing among policemen, for whom the use of excessive force had always been part of their routine work. Moreover, NGOs pointed out that since the change of Government few alleged perpetrators of acts of torture reportedly committed under the old regime had been investigated or tried. 174. HLC provided information on 12 selected cases involving 21 alleged victims that occurred between 1 December 2000 and March 2002. They reportedly took place in Belgrade, Smederevo, Becej (Vojvodina), Presevo, Novi Sad, Smederevska Palanka, Srbobran (Vojvodina), Vladicin Han, Kragujevac and Backa Palanka. All the victims alleged having been severely beaten; one reported having received electric shocks and another, an asthmatic patient, was not allowed to use his inhalator when he suffered a serious attack of asthma at the police station. Six of the alleged victims were Roma. 175. The Yugoslav Lawyers Committee for Human Rights provided information on 16 cases, all but 4 of which had occurred in Serbia after 5 October 2000. The reports alleged severe beatings with truncheons, falaqa, denial of medical assistance to an unconscious victim, sexual assault (possibly rape) and the discharge of firearms close to the head. The incidents reportedly took place in the street, as well as during questioning at police stations. In one case the victim was allegedly beaten by prison guards and in another by soldiers. The locations included Belgrade, Leskovac, Tutin, Sjenica (both in the Sandzak), Surdulica, Prokuplje and Vranje. 73