Situation during visit (A/HRC/4/33/Add.3) (d) The special court system within the security services above all, police and intelligence courts - be abolished, and their jurisdiction be transferred to the ordinary independent public prosecutors and criminal courts The special court system did not work effectively. The presumption of innocence was illusory, primacy was placed on obtaining confessions, public officials essentially demonstrated no sense of duty, and assumed no responsibility to investigate human rights violations against suspected criminals, and the system of internal special courts served only to shield security officials from justice. • Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), guaranteed every prisoner the right to complain to prison authorities, who have to forward the complaint to the Public Prosecutor • When allegations of torture against a member of the police were made, the Department of Public Prosecutions had to register it in an investigation report and (e) An effective and independent complaints system for torture and abuse leading to criminal investigations be established Steps taken in previous years (to be found in A/HRC/7/3/Add.2) not permitted to impose suspended sentences. Information received on steps taken since December 2007/current situation • • • The PSD established a radio station through which all complaints are directly aired and appropriate solutions sought; and installed complaints boxes in various prisons under the direct supervision of the PSD’s Office of Complaints and Human Rights The Ministry of Justice created a mechanism to enable detainees to make complaints and allocated qualified personnel to handle these complaints in the Ministry of Justice’ Human Rights Department. At the same time, this would enable the • Non-governmental sources: Prisoners can complain to the Ministry of Interior’s Public Security Directorate through Legal Affairs prosecutors who are present full time in seven prisons: Muwaqqar, Qafqafa, Swaqa, Jweideh men, Jweideh women, al-‘Aqaba and Birain. The prisonbased prosecutors work closely with officials in the Grievances and Human Rights Office, part of the Public Security Directorate, who visit the prisons every two weeks and empty the sealed complaints boxes In February 2008 the Government-funded NCHR was allowed to open an office A/HRC/10/44/Add.5 page 52 Recommendation (A/HRC/4/33/Add.3)