30 A practical guide to the Istanbul Protocol – for lawyers identify those carrying out the examination and shall be signed.126 iii. Witness testimony Interviews will need to be conducted with the victim, the alleged perpetrator and any witnesses to the events. The role of the interviewer is to obtain credible information from the interviewee with the view to establishing relevant facts relating to the torture. (i) Protection issues As affirmed in the Istanbul Protocol, “The State is responsible to protect victims, witnesses and their families from violence, threats of violence or any other form of intimidation that may arise pursuant to the 127 investigation.” This has been an issue in several countries such as Sri Lanka where the lack of effective victim and witness protection has been connected with reprisals, intimidation and threats in torture cases.128 States should criminalise threats to victims and witnesses and complement these measures with practical victim and witness protection schemes.129 States should also suspend the alleged perpetrators from duty where the allegations are not manifestly illfounded.130 As a general rule investigators must consider carefully and constantly the actual and potential consequences of the investigation on victim and witness safety, especially where the victim is in custody. Interviewers should consider the following when conducting detainee interviews: • It is essential to obtain the detainee’s trust and to ensure that the detainees do not place themselves in danger • The detainee must fully consent to the interview and to how the information will subsequently be used • The names and details of those interviewed should be taken so that it is possible to assess their safety in the course of follow-up visits • If there is a fear of reprisals, group inter- views may have to be conducted in order to avoid exposure of any specific person. Alternatively they may be transferred to another detention facility.131 (ii) Interviewing the victim Given the nature of torture and its impact on victims, it is of utmost importance that interviewers are sensitive to the person alleging torture or other witnesses so as to avoid retraumatisation. Where necessary and possible, several interviews may be needed to bring out the full story as it often takes time for torture survivors to trust anyone conducting interviews. As explained in the Istanbul Protocol, “From the outset, the victim should be informed of the nature of the proceedings, why his or her evidence is being sought, if and how evidence offered by the alleged victim may be used”, and the victim’s consent to the interview must be specifically received. Furthermore, the person alleging torture “should be regularly informed of the progress of the investigation.”132 The basic aim of an interview will be to reveal the following: • “The circumstances leading up to the torture, including arrest or abduction and detention[…] • Approximate dates and times of the torture[…] • A detailed description of the persons involved in the arrest, detention and torture[…] • Contents of what the person was told or asked[…] • A description of the usual routine in the place of detention and patterns of illtreatment[…] • A description of the facts of the torture, including the methods of torture used… • Whether the individual was sexually assaulted[…] • Physical injuries sustained in the course of the torture[…]