E/CN.4/1990/17/Add.l page 4 10. Torture and inhuman and degrading treatment is explicitly and absolutelyprohibited by the Constitution (art. 13). In the Penal Code, torture is not mentioned as a separate crime but is considered to be an act which is harmful to a person's physical integrity and is punishable as such (art. 63). If torture or severe maltreatment accompany other illegal acts, like abduction or arbitrary detention, it is considered to be an aggravating element leading to a more severe penalty. 11. According to Zairian law, individuals suspected of having committed a crime punishable by more than six month's imprisonment may be arrested by all members of the various law enforcement forces who have the status of Officier de Police Judiciaire (OPJ) (art. 72 of the Ordonnance 78-289 relative a l'exercice des attributions d'officier et agent de police judiciaire pres les juridictions de droit commun). Junior members of these forces who do not have the status of OPJ are called Agents de Police Judiciaire (APJ); they may apprehend suspects, but the formal arrest has to be made by an OPJ. After a maximum of 48 hours following the arrest, during which an initial investigation may be held, suspects must either be released or referred to a magistrate belonging to the office of the Public Prosecutor who may order their continued detention (art. 73, para. 1, and art. 139 of Ordinance 78-289). Such magistrates (who have the status of Inspecteur de Police Judiciaire) must, if further detention is deemed necessary, refer the detainee within 5 days to a judge who may remand him in custody for a period of 15 days. Remand orders may be renewed upon request from the magistrate concerned for further periods of 30 days (arts. 29, 30 and 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The detainee has to be presented to the judge in persona and has the right to be assisted by legal counsel. According to other legal provisions an arrested person has the right to ask for an examination by a doctor immediately after his arrest and the right to have his relatives informed of his arrest. 12. There are a number of law enforcement forces which are authorized to make arrest. A distinction can be made between law enforcement forces with a general mandate and agencies with a specific mandate. The most important of these law enforcement forces are (a) the Gendarmerie Nationale; (b) the Garde Civile; (c) the Agence Nationale de Documentation; (d) the Agence Nationale de 1'Immigration and (e) the Service d'Action et de Renseignements Militaires. Gendarmerie Nationale 13. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the armed forces and was established in 1972 when two other security forces still dating from the colonial period were merged. It has a general mandate for the control of law and order and is represented throughout the country; it is the main police force in the country. Two units of the Gendarmerie have a more specific task: a mobile unit which can intervene in case of civil unrest and a unit which is entrusted with the gathering of intelligence (S-2). The Garde Civile. 14. The Garde Civile was created in 1984 by the President of the Republic and is directly responsible to him. It does not belong to the armed forces and, like the Gendarmerie Nationale, has a general mandate. It was created in order to assist the Gendarmerie in carrying out its general mandate for the control of law and order within the country. There is, however, no