E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.2 page 5 6. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Government of Uzbekistan for having invited him and for having extended its support during his mission through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and other government agencies. He also wishes to express his gratitude to the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan and his staff for their logistical and other support. I. PROTECTION OF DETAINEES AGAINST TORTURE A. Prohibition of torture 7. Article 26 of the 1992 Constitution provides that “[n]o one may be subjected to torture, violence or any other cruel or humiliating treatment”. The 1994 Criminal Code (CC), which was later amended in October 2001, does not contain any specific definition of torture. However, a number of provisions in the CC were said by the authorities, in particular the General Procurator, to cover the crime of torture, from article 104 (“premeditated grievous bodily harm”) to article 110 (“ill-treatment/tormenting” - istyazanie). Article 17 of the 1999 Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) states that “[j]udges, procurators, and persons carrying out initial inquiries or pre-trial investigations are under the obligation to respect the honour and dignity of persons involved in a case. No one shall be subjected to torture (pytki), violence or other cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment. It is prohibited to perform acts or hand down judgements which humiliate or demean a person, … or will cause unjustified physical or mental suffering.” 8. According to the Director of the National Human Rights Centre, the question whether the actual provisions of the CC were sufficient or whether a more precise definition of torture was needed had been referred for consideration to the Parliamentary Committee on Legislation. In that respect, the Special Rapporteur shares the views of the Committee against Torture which recommended in May 2002 - after consideration of the second periodic report on implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment submitted by Uzbekistan (CAT/C/53/Add.1)1 - that Uzbekistan “(a) proceed promptly with plans to review the proposals to amend its domestic penal law to include the crime of torture fully consistent with the definition contained in article 1 of the Convention and supported by an adequate penalty” (CAT/C/CR/28/7, para. 6). Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur notes that the offence contained in article 104 CC,2 the most serious of the relevant offences in the CC, provides for only up to five years’ deprivation of liberty. He would like to recall that article 4, paragraph 2, of the Convention states that “[e]ach State Party shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature”. B. Initial arrest and detention 1. Arrest 9. Any person apprehended and deprived of liberty must be formally charged within 72 hours. Article 226 CPC states that the detention without charge “cannot exceed more than 72 hours from the moment the detainee (arrested person) is brought to the police station or to another organ of law-enforcement”. Upon the sanction of a procurator, this