CAT/OP/UKR/1 (b) Right to inform a third party of detention 37. The right of persons deprived of their liberty to inform a person of their choice about their detention represents a basic safeguard against torture and ill-treatment.16 The SPT found several cases in which persons deprived of their liberty had not been able to inform a third person of their choice about their detention for prolonged periods of time, despite asking to do so. 38. The SPT recommends that persons deprived of their liberty be allowed to notify or to require the competent authority to notify a person of their choice of both the fact of their detention and of the place in which they are being held, free of charge. Such notification shall take place promptly after their initial detention or arrest and also after any transfer from one place of detention to another. Ideally, this notification shall be given by means of a phone call, and the date and time of this phone call, as well as the identity of the person notified, shall be noted in the register. (c) Right to legal assistance 39. As a fundamental safeguard against torture and ill-treatment, detainees should have the right to independent legal assistance from the outset of detention,17 and, in principle, an independent legal representative should be entitled to be present and assist the detainee during all police interviews and during appearances before a judge. If a detainee has been subjected to torture or ill-treatment, this access to defence will facilitate the right to complaint, in addition to performing a preventive function.18 40. As mentioned under the above section on public defence, a high proportion of the persons interviewed in Ukraine did not have access to legal assistance. Moreover, many persons interviewed informed the SPT that they had been coerced into signing declarations waiving this fundamental right. 41. The SPT recommends that the relevant Ukrainian authorities take immediate steps to cease and severely sanction the widespread practice of coercing persons into signing declarations waiving their right to legal assistance, as it is a clear example of an abuse of power. Any allegations of this practice should be thoroughly investigated and the responsible officers brought to account. 42. The SPT recommends that the authorities ensure that persons deprived of liberty are consistently informed of their right to have access to a lawyer of their choice, that they can be provided with legal aid services, and that they be able to freely exercise this right from the outset of their deprivation of liberty, and throughout the entire criminal justice procedure.19 (d) Length of police custody 43. Credible allegations were received concerning the practice of moving detainees between places of detention in order to avoid registration and in order to circumvent the legal maximum length of custody in those places. Such practices are a demonstration of bad faith in the execution of the authorities’ legal obligations vis-à-vis the detainees, and could amount to arbitrary detention. 16 17 18 19 8 Committee against Torture, General comment No. 2, CAT/C/GC/2, para. 13; Principle 16 (1) of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. Committee against Torture, General comment No. 2, CAT/C/GC/2, para. 13. Principle 7 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 1990 (Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers). Principle 7 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.