E/CN.4/2000/4/Add.2 page 21 note the existence of marks and injuries), with a view to soliciting information about the alleged offence or obtaining a confession. 85. Evidence and allegations of ill-treatment in detention or confessions obtained under duress are all too frequently ignored by the courts. It is the opinion of the Working Group that cases in which information is solicited through use of force against or ill-treatment of the accused and later admitted as evidence during the trial must be subsumed under category III of its methods of work. IV. CONCLUSIONS 86. During its visit, the Working Group was able to evaluate the beginnings of the democratization movement in Indonesia, even if much progress remains to be made. Symptomatic of this process is the release of the former PKI prisoners on 25 March 1999. 87. The events of May 1998, which put an end to an authoritarian regime that had been in power for more than 30 years, resulted in many positive developments for the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms and human rights. Freedom of the press has made considerable progress, as have freedom of assembly and association, the development of political parties, etc. Nonetheless, the litmus test will be the general elections of 7 June 1999, which will be governed by electoral laws that have been vastly improved, even though, in the opinion of several individuals interviewed by the Group, they still contain loopholes which might facilitate electoral fraud. In general, and in particular in the first few months after the change in government, the Indonesian people harboured great expectations. With the passing of time, some of these expectations have been reduced, partly owing to the severe economic crisis that has affected Indonesia. 88. Among the positive measures the Working Group wishes to set out are the following: The release of many political prisoners, notably those belonging to the former PKI. The measure announced by the Government on 25 March 1999 was recommended with insistence by the Group during its visit; Decreasing resort to use of the Anti-Subversion Law and other legislative texts which, for many years, facilitated arbitrary deprivation of liberty; The elimination of the generalized practice of prolonged detention for political motives. 89. On the other hand, the incidence of violence accompanying repressive activities has hardly diminished (for example, in Aceh, Irian Jaya and East Timor). Arrests continue to be characterized by numerous flaws that result in detentions being arbitrary within the meaning of one of the three categories under the Group's working methods.