CAT/C/PER/CO/5-6
under national law. The Committee is concerned that while charges were raised in the case
of Mr. Gerson Falla, who died in custody 48 hours after being beaten in detention, no
conviction has been pronounced and no one held responsible. The Committee is also
concerned that the fundamental legal safeguards for persons detained by police are not
always respected and regrets the absence of a specific registry for cases of torture and cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment. The Committee is further concerned at
reports about violence by law enforcement personnel in the context of apprehension. There
seems to be no regular assessments of cases of torture allegations based on The Manual on
Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol) of detained persons (arts. 2, 10,
12, 13 and 14).
The State party should take effective measures to:
(a)
Conduct prompt, impartial and effective investigations of all reports of
torture and ill-treatment, bring perpetrators to justice and punish them with
appropriate penalties;
(b)
Ensure that persons deprived of their liberty enjoy fundamental legal
safeguards from the very outset of their detention and have recourse to an
independent complaints procedure;
(c)
Ensure that law enforcement personnel are trained in professional
techniques which minimize any risk of harm to apprehended persons;
(d)
Establish a specific registry for cases of torture and cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment and punishment;
(e)
Ensure that the Istanbul Protocol is made a mandatory part of the
training for all medical professionals involved in the documentation and investigation
of allegations of torture and ill-treatment in order to permit proper diagnosing of
signs of torture.
Pretrial detention
9.
The Committee is concerned that some 60 per cent of all detainees are in pretrial
detention some of which may last up to 36 months, which contributes to the overcrowding
in detention centres throughout the country (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
The State party should take prompt steps to restrict the use of pretrial detention as
well as its duration, using alternative measures to imprisonment in line with the
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (The Tokyo
Rules).
Conditions of detention
10.
The Committee is concerned at information about the conditions in detention centres
including overcrowding at 114 per cent, deteriorated infrastructure, including food and
temperature, poor sanitary conditions and only 54 doctors to cover the entire prison
population. In particular, the Committee expresses concern at the conditions in the highsecurity prison at the Callao naval base with prolonged solitary confinement, sensory
isolation, prohibition to communicate and half-hour family visits once a month, and at the
conditions in the Challapalca and Yanamayo detention centres (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
The State party should:
(a)
Take immediate steps to reduce overcrowding in places of detention,
including by the application of alternatives to imprisonment;
3