E/CN.4/1997/7 page 43 Syrian Arab Republic 190. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one urgent appeal on behalf of two persons, to which the Government provided a reply. Tunisia 191. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government of reports he had received according to which the Tunisian judicial system appeared to be unaware that detainees had alleged that their statements were obtained by torture, particularly when they were being held in custody - even when, weeks or months after the arrest, the detainee bears physical signs tending to prove that he was ill-treated. In the rare cases when medical examinations were carried out, the doctors were designated by the authorities, usually several weeks after the events in question took place. It was also said that the few investigations carried out into allegations of torture and ill-treatment did not provide all the necessary guarantees, particularly as regards impartiality, and the results were never made public. 192. In addition to the above the Special Rapporteur transmitted eight newly reported cases and retransmitted three cases updated with additional information provided by the sources. The Government replied to all of them. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur sent two urgent appeals on behalf of two persons and the Government replied to one of them. Observations 193. The Special Rapporteur appreciates the consistent cooperation of the Government, evidenced by its responses. Nevertheless, the persistence of allegations over the years and the widespread doubts as to the evidence of medical examinations conducted by doctors in government service suggest the importance of ensuring the monitoring of the detention and interrogation practices of law enforcement agencies by an independent body and permitting access of independent physicians to detainees at their request. Turkey 194. By letter dated 8 February 1996 the Special Rapporteur reminded the Government of the general allegations he had transmitted in 1995 (see E/CN.4/1996/35, paras 174-176). He also advised the Government that he had received information indicating that many examinations conducted by State-appointed doctors of the Forensic Medicine Institute appeared to be flawed. The medical examinations were reported to be often carried out in the presence of soldiers or police officers from the units responsible for the original interrogation under torture. Many such examinations were said to be perfunctory and in a number of cases misleading certificates were alleged to have been produced. On 29 May 1996 the Government replied that the allegations regarding medical reports were devoid of any element of truth. The Ministry of Health had taken measures to ensure that medical reports were safely transmitted to the prosecutor and that their contents were withheld