Independent medical examination As an effective safeguard against abuse including torture in police detention, a person should have the right of access to a doctor, including the right to be examined, if the person detained so wishes, by a doctor of his or her own choice (in addition to any medical examination carried out by a doctor called by the police authorities). When realised, this safeguard provides an independent and objective witness to a person’s injuries which serves to deter torture and ill-treatment and provides a way to report, record and end abuse. States should remove obstacles that reduce the potential for this safeguard to prevent torture and ill-treatment in practice. In particular, States should make facilities available that allow medical examinations to be conducted out of the hearing, and preferably out of the sight, of police officers. Training for health professionals should also build capacity to detect and document injuries of torture and ill-treatment. The Istanbul Protocol on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has served to increase the efficacy of medical examinations. India: female doctors for female detainees The Indian Criminal Procedure Code provides that any arrested person has the right to an examination by a medical practitioner both when he or she is produced before a magistrate or at any time during their police detention. Additionally, whenever a woman is arrested, she may only be examined by, or under the supervision of, a female registered medical practitioner. Lebanon: establishing a specialised forensic unit In June 2017 a Forensic and Psychological Examination Unit was opened at the Palace of Justice in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, to ensure that all persons arrested receive a physical and psychological examination as a means to prevent and prohibit torture. This is a pilot project and delivers the first specialised centre of this type in Lebanon; it is anticipated that more forensic units will be established in other parts of the country. Turkey: obligatory medical examinations During the 1990s when abuse in police detention was frequently reported, Turkey responded by putting in place a system of multiple obligatory medical examinations, as soon as possible after arrest and again after a period in custody, as well as at the end of detention. The success of the system of medical examinations was credited with the reduction in widespread ill-treatment in Turkey during this period, such that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture considered in 2009 that Turkey no longer needed a system of multiple compulsory examinations and the system was subsequently simplified. Communicate with a family member or third party The right to notify and, in some cases, directly communicate with a family member or another person of the individual’s choice promptly after arrest is a human right frequently protected in law. Beyond the psychological comfort from being able to notify family of the situation of detention, it also enables the family to contact a lawyer (if not already done) and monitor their treatment in detention. Notifying family members of the detention ends the period a person is held incommunicado and thereby reduces the risk that a person will be disappeared. When contact with the outside world could prejudice an ongoing investigation, States can temporarily place reasonable limits on how and when a detainee may communicate with a family member or third party. Due to the importance of the safeguard, however, any limits on notification to the family or third party should be justified on legal grounds and strictly limited in time. The delay might also be rebalanced with other safeguards, such as a clear written record of the delay and early judicial supervision. TOOL: Safeguards in the first hours of police detention 5/11