E/CN.4/1997/7 page 37 Philippines 159. The Government replied to seven cases that had been transmitted by the Special Rapporteur in 1995. Poland 160. The Special Rapporteur transmitted two cases, to which the Government replied. Portugal 161. The Special Rapporteur transmitted two newly reported cases to which the Government replied. The Government also replied to two cases transmitted in previous years. Republic of Korea 162. By letter dated 24 January 1996 the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information according to which persons detained for political reasons were sometimes subjected to beatings, sleep deprivation, enforced physical exercises, and threats to themselves or their families. The Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP), the Military Security Command (MSC) and the police, were all said to employ such methods, primarily to coerce “confessions”. Suspects were reportedly often held initially without a warrant or judicial supervision for the purpose of interrogation, which effectively resulted in short periods of incommunicado detention. It was during such periods that detainees were most vulnerable to torture or ill-treatment. In a number of cases in which persons were held under the National Security Law, the detainees had allegedly been denied access to lawyers or families for a preliminary period. 163. In a subsequent letter dated 24 September 1996 the Special Rapporteur informed the Government of reports that he had received indicating that during the course of police operations between 10 and 22 August 1996 against students from a number of universities holding a demonstration at Yonsei University for reunification of the Korean peninsula, a substantial number of persons were subjected to torture or other ill-treatment. 164. The Special Rapporteur transmitted 20 cases and received replies to 2 cases. Observations 165. The Special Rapporteur notes the deep concern expressed by the Committee against Torture at its November 1996 session regarding reports of torture being inflicted on political suspects and commends the Committee’s recommendations. Romania 166. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received reports according to which improper investigations, defined by article 266 of