CAT/C/AFG/CO/2 (c) That the Penal Code does not clearly prohibit corporal punishment, including flogging, amputation of limbs and stoning, practices which amount to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (arts. 1, 2 and 4). 24. The Committee requests the State party: (a) To ensure that the new Law on the Prohibition of Torture including a definition of torture that covers all the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention is properly enforced under its jurisdiction; (b) To ensure that penalties for torture and statutory limitations are commensurate with the gravity of the crime; (c) To amend its legislation in order to prohibit and establish other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as separate offences; (d) To legally ensure that victims have access to reporting mechanisms of which they may avail themselves without fear of intimidation or reprisals from authorities; (e) To amend its legislation in order to clearly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment, as they amount to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in violation of the Convention. Fundamental legal safeguards 25. While welcoming the State party’s information regarding procedural safeguards, in particular those set out in articles 7 to 11 and 152 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Committee is concerned that in practice the rights of persons deprived of their liberty to have prompt access to a lawyer and an independent medical doctor are not respected. The Committee is deeply concerned by the numerous allegations that detainees and in particular national security-related detainees in facilities of the National Directorate of Security, the national police and the local police: (a) Do not have guaranteed access to lawyers, including legal aid services, and medical personnel from the outset of the deprivation of their liberty, when they are most at risk of being subjected to acts of torture or ill-treatment; (b) Are frequently not notified of the reasons for their detention and not authorized to communicate with their relatives; (c) Are held in custody in complete violation of the time limits set out in the Criminal Procedure Code, some allegedly being detained in pretrial custody for a year. In that connection, the Committee is particularly concerned by Presidential Decree 76, notably articles 5 and 6 amending the Criminal Procedure Code to add provisions for “terrorist crimes and crimes against internal and external security” that significantly extend the time limit during which those suspected of terrorist crimes or crimes against internal and external security could be held during the detention and investigation phase without having access to a judge (art. 2). 26. The State party should ensure, in law and in practice, that all detainees, including detainees suspected of terrorism or other security-related offences, are afforded all fundamental legal safeguards from the outset of the deprivation of liberty, including the safeguards mentioned in paragraphs 13 and 14 of the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2. It should ensure that all provisions of Presidential Decree 76 that are inconsistent with the Convention are repealed and that law enforcement officials respect legal safeguards and penalize any failure by officials to do so. It should in particular ensure that all persons deprived of their liberty, including those suspected of terrorism or other security-related crimes: (a) Have the right to access to legal counsel of their choice or, if necessary, to free legal aid by an independent lawyer in full confidentiality and are able to challenge, at any time during the period of detention, the legality or necessity of the detention before a magistrate who can order the detainee’s immediate release; 6