CAT/C/RUS/CO/6 17. The State party should ensure that the case of Yevgeny Makarov is promptly, impartially and effectively investigated and that the perpetrators, including those with command responsibilities and those who suppressed the video recording, are prosecuted and, if found responsible, punished with appropriate penalties. The State party should also take all the necessary measures to protect Yevgeny Makarov and his lawyer, Irina Biryukova, against reprisals. Excessive use of force 18. The Committee is concerned at consistent reports on the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials during demonstrations. In particular, the Committee is concerned at information that hundreds of protesters were severely beaten and arrested during the anticorruption demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg on 12 June 2017; that when apprehending protesters police officers hid their identities by concealing their badges; and that protesters were denied access to lawyers and basic necessities while held in extremely overcrowded police cells (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). 19. The State party should: (a) Ensure that prompt, impartial and effective investigations are undertaken into all allegations relating to the excessive use of force by law enforcement officers and members of the armed forces, that the perpetrators are prosecuted and that the victims obtain redress, including adequate compensation; (b) Provide professional training to law enforcement officials on the need to respect the principles of necessity and proportionality during police interventions, especially with respect to peaceful demonstrations; the absolute prohibition of torture and other State obligations under the Convention; and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials; (c) Strengthen its compliance with legislation that requires all law enforcement officers on duty to wear visible identification of their personal identity to ensure individual accountability and protection against acts of torture and illtreatment. Drug users 20. Noting the lack of opioid substitution therapy in the State party, the Committee is concerned at consistent reports that law enforcement officials deliberately took advantage of the withdrawal syndrome displayed by drug users deprived of liberty to elicit coerced confessions and that the courts admitted such evidence. The Committee regrets that, despite recommendations made by several other treaty bodies, including the Human Rights Committee in 2015, the State party has reportedly not taken effective measures to address this issue (arts. 2, 11, 15 and 16). 21. The Committee urges the State party to take all the measures necessary to effectively protect drug users deprived of liberty against the exploitation by the police of the pain and suffering associated with the withdrawal syndrome, including to extract confessions; to ensure that such confessions are not admitted by the courts; and to provide drug users in detention with adequate access to necessary medical treatment. Monitoring of places of deprivation of liberty 22. While noting the measures taken by the State party to strengthen the public oversight commissions, including Federal Act No. 203 of 19 July 2018 aiming to expand the rights of members of the commissions, the Committee is concerned at consistent reports that the continued underfunding of the commissions has led to a reduced number of visits carried out during the period under review. It is also concerned at information that the revised rules governing the membership of public oversight commissions have resulted in the appointment by the Council of the Public Chamber of a disproportionate number of members with law enforcement backgrounds and the exclusion of independent monitors, undermining the impartiality and independence of the commissions. The Committee notes 5