A/HRC/40/59/Add.1 62. Article 199 of the Kosovo Criminal Code criminalizes torture, in full compliance with international human rights standards, and the prohibition against the use of forced confessions is contained in article 10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 2. Fundamental safeguards 63. Formally, the fundamental safeguards for the prevention of torture and ill-treatment seem to be in place, including the right to notify one’s detention to a relative and the rights of access to legal counsel and to a medical doctor. 64. However, a number of detainees claimed that they did not have access to their ex officio lawyer until after they had been questioned by a police officer. From the time of their arrest until the official start of their interrogation, they were allegedly left in a legal limbo which, in some instances, facilitated the perpetration of police torture and illtreatment. 65. Moreover, the law on the police does not provide for the right to have access to a lawyer for persons who are held in “temporary police custody” for identification purposes or for their own protection or the protection of others (for a maximum of up to 12 and 24 hours, respectively). 66. The Special Rapporteur therefore strongly recommends that steps be taken to ensure that persons placed in the custody of the police are granted access to a lawyer from the outset of their deprivation of liberty, promptly after arrest. 67. While medical examinations are routinely carried out at the outset of custody, the law on the police does not contain a formal right of access to a doctor for persons held in temporary police custody. The Special Rapporteur urges the relevant authorities to take steps to ensure that persons who are in the custody of the police are granted access to a doctor from the outset of their deprivation of liberty, promptly after arrest. 68. The forensic expert accompanying the mission observed that medical doctors performing these examinations generally had not received any specialized training and therefore lacked the expertise required for the investigation, interpretation and documentation of the physical and psychological signs of torture and other ill-treatment. As a consequence, routine medical examinations did not meet the requirements of reliable forensic examination and the resulting medical reports fell short of internationally recognized standards as reflected in the Istanbul Protocol. 69. Systematic training programmes on the Istanbul Protocol should be implemented for all health professionals who may be called to examine persons deprived of their liberty, as well as for lawyers, prosecutors and judges who may be involved in relevant judicial cases, so as to strengthen their understanding of the potential and limitations of medical examinations in the identification and documentation of the signs of torture and other illtreatment. B. Allegations of torture and ill-treatment 70. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the commitment shown by all officials to the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. He is also pleased to report that as far as penitentiaries and remand prisons under the authority of the Ministry of Justice are concerned, he did not receive any complaints of ill-treatment except for a few isolated allegations of excessive use of force in disciplinary situations. 71. However, the Special Rapporteur notes with grave concern that he received numerous and consistent allegations of torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the police, most notably as a means of coercing confessions out of individuals during interrogation in police custody. Detainees reported that such abuse consisted mostly of severe beatings, punches and kicking, blows with objects and verbal and psychological threats. 72. In some cases, detainees alleged that the ex officio lawyer assigned to them had acted in collusion with law enforcement officials. 11