A/HRC/19/61/Add.1 27. Torture and ill-treatment was pervasive in detention centres, particularly in the DSS. The Special Rapporteur received testimonies and reports indicating that torture was orchestrated by the DSS under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior and practiced by all police forces. Certain victims were reportedly kept in custody and subjected to various forms of torture within the Ministry of the Interior headquarters itself. 28. In addition, according to various sources, the use of torture intensified after the entry into force of the counter-terrorism legislation of 10 December 2003 (Law No. 2003-75). 29. The Special Rapporteur heard credible testimonies about a pattern of a lack of timely and adequate investigation of torture allegations by prosecutors or investigative judges. 2. Political prisoners 30. The Special Rapporteur received information indicating that the overwhelming majority of persons convicted for politically motivated offenses in Tunisia, some arrested under the 2003 anti-terrorism law, were reportedly sentenced by military courts to life imprisonment after unfair trials marred by allegations of torture and other ill-treatment. 31. The Government announced on 19 February 2011 that all political prisoners had been released and that others had been awarded conditional release or a presidential pardon. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that while some of the detainees of the Ben Ali period may have benefitted from the general amnesty, 1 there is no strategy in place to hold the perpetrators of past violations accountable and to ensure reparation and effective remedy. No programme of remedies, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible, were contemplated by the interim Government at the time of the visit. 3. Impunity 32. The Special Rapporteur was informed that complaints of torture were rarely investigated under the Ben Ali regime. 2 The judiciary has reportedly been tightly controlled by the executive branch. In the majority of cases, the investigating judge would refuse to register complaints of torture out of fear of reprisals, and complaints lodged by victims to the prosecution were almost always dismissed immediately. 3 The practice of admitting a confession obtained under torture into evidence was widely practiced by judges. In addition, forensic assessments generally were not conducted or, if they were, their credibility was undermined by many deficiencies or falsified conclusions. 33. The Special Rapporteur learned that during the period from 1999 to 2009 (September), 246 police officers were prosecuted for ill-treatment and misconduct. Out of 246 initiated prosecutions, 228 final judgments were handed down during the same period. Reportedly, only seven criminal convictions for acts of torture and ill-treatment were handed down against law-enforcement and prison officials under article 53 of the statute of the Internal Security Forces. 4. Safeguards 34. Tunisian security practice has not adhered strictly to regulations requiring the prompt registration of persons arrested, immediate notification of family members, limitation of pretrial detention, medical examinations in response to allegations of torture, and autopsies in all cases of deaths in custody. This has also been pointed out by the Committee against 1 2 3 8 Decree No. 1 of 19 February 2011. According to the Ministry of Justice, 5,200 prisoners, including political prisoners, have been released under the amnesty. See also the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism on his mission to Tunisia (A/HRC/16/51/Add.2). Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/TUN/CO/5), para. 11.