Diagram 29. Assessment of attorney’s performance. It must be noted that the assessment of the attorneys’ performance was only based on the information received from the detainees in the course of the interviews. To arrive at reliable and impartial conclusions about the effectiveness of legal aid rendered by attorneys, a large-scale research is required, including studying case materials, interviewing attorneys of all the respondents held in TDFs etc. The issues of the protection of torture victims A separate component of the monitoring was to interview attorneys protecting interests of torture survivors. Fifteen lawyers dealing with this category of criminal cases were interviewed. However, even this number of interviewed attorneys was enough to detect serious violation of TDF prisoners’ right to defense and make the following conclusions. Major problems in the area of protecting a torture victim include: a. Violation of the right of the attorney to an unimpeded access to his defendant detained; b. Violation of the right of the attorney to communicate with his defendant with confidentiality; c. Reluctance of prosecutor’s bodies to institute criminal proceedings under cases of torture; d. Pressure exerted by accused persons and law enforcement officer on attorneys and their defendants. a. The right of the attorney to an unimpeded access to his defendant detained in IAB TDF When asked if an attorney can visit his defendant held a TDF in an unimpeded way, the following answers were received: • always – 3 • no, there are obstacles – 12 Example: Attorney: “I was not allowed to visit my defendant under this criminal case. I had to raise voice at the IAB management”.210 Example: Attorney: “I always have an unimpeded access to my defendants in pre-trial detention facilities. However, in case of TDFs, I always have to pester them and push for my rights as an attorney”.211 Example: Attorney: “When a defendant is a victim of torture, it is hard to be granted an opportunity to visit him”.212 Example: Attorney: “I always have an unimpeded access to my defendants in pre-trial detention facilities. If a defendant is held in an IAB TDF and if he was beaten, they either deny a visit or allow it with delay to make sure that signs of torture are no longer visible”.213 Example: Attorney: “If a defendant is beaten, it is extremely hard to get a chance to visit him”.214 210 211 212 213 214 Monitoring Report No.А/24/6. Monitoring Report No. А/23/4. Monitoring Report No. А/25/7. Monitoring Report No. А/24/6. Monitoring Report No. А/23/5. 73