A/HRC/4/33/Add.2 Page 66 also for periods longer than 14 days. Particularly, terrorist suspects are reportedly being held incommunicado for periods of almost one and a half months without being charged. 320. Recommendation (g) stated: Confessions made by a person under police detention without the presence of a lawyer should not be admissible against the person. 321. According to information received from NGOs and other sources, Section 25A of the Evidence Act was amended in 2003 to the effect that confessions are only admissible if made before a court. This change in law effectively prevents the police from taking confessions from suspects. As a result, incidents of torture in police custody have drastically declined. However, due to concerns over an increase in crime, a new amendment to the Evidence Act is currently being discussed in Parliament. This new law foresees that only senior ranking police officers shall take confessions; and that a person confessing before the police shall be entitled to demand the presence of a third person of his/r her choice. 322. Recommendation (h) stated: Legal aid should be available to anyone held in police custody or on remand who has not the means to secure legal assistance, with lawyers being given immediate access to their clients. The Law Society should consider establishing an appropriate scheme in cooperation with the Government. 323. According to information received from NGOs and other sources, there is no general legal aid scheme in force. Legal aid provided is limited in scope and obligatory only for certain crimes, such as in murder cases. A National Legal Aid Scheme is currently before Parliament for enactment into law. 324. Recommendation (i) stated: Close family members of persons detained should be immediately informed of their relative’s detention and be given access to them. 325. According to information received from NGOs and other sources, there are no legal provisions obliging the police to inform family members of the arrest and detention of their relative, nor does an informal practice exist. Many detainees have complained that they were being held without their families’ knowledge. 326. Recommendation (j) stated: The police monopoly of issuing P3 forms for medical examinations should be abandoned. 327. According to information received from NGOs and other sources, the police monopoly of issuing P3 forms is still in force. A vast number of persons complained that they were denied the form. The procedure is not only expensive, as victims have to pay the police doctor to fill in the forms, but also very lengthy due to a general lack of competent police doctors. 328. Recommendation (k) stated: Magistrates and judges, like prosecutors, should always ask a person brought from police custody how they have been treated and be particularly attentive to their condition. 329. According to information received from NGOs and other sources, the judiciary rarely ever addresses persons brought before them with regard to their treatment in custody. Only few cases with obvious and pronounced external injuries are dealt with if the person concerned