CAT/C/SVK/CO/3 (b) Strengthen the independent and regular monitoring of all places of deprivation of liberty by the ombudsperson and other independent and impartial mechanisms, including by conducting unannounced visits to places of deprivation of liberty, and to enable them to deal with the complaints of inmates about their conditions of detention and provide effective follow-up to such complaints; (c) Ensure the presence of a sufficient number of psychiatrists in the prison health-care system. Excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, including violence against Roma 11. The Committee is concerned: (a) At reports alleging cases of excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, including against minors, mostly immediately after apprehension, which may amount to ill-treatment or torture; (b) At the low number of complaints, prosecutions and convictions in such cases; (c) That investigations into allegations of ill-treatment by police officers are carried out by the Control and Inspection Service Department of the Ministry of the Interior, which is a department within the same structure employing the alleged perpetrators; (d) That no charges were brought against police officers who participated in the raid on 19 June 2013 on the Roma settlement of Moldava nad Bodvou in eastern Slovakia, which resulted in the apprehension of 15 persons, a number of whom reportedly were seriously ill-treated by the police during their apprehension and subsequent detention; (e) That all 10 policemen who physically abused and inflicted degrading treatment on six Roma juveniles in the city of Košice on 21 March 2009 were acquitted in the first instance judgement by the Košice II District Court on 27 February 2015, since the court refused to admit the video recording of the incriminating act as a legally obtained piece of evidence (arts. 2, 12-14 and 16). The State party should: (a) Carry out prompt, impartial, thorough and effective investigations into all allegations of excessive use of force, including torture and ill-treatment, by law enforcement officials, and ensure that those suspected of having committed such acts are immediately suspended from their duties throughout the period of investigation, while ensuring that the principle of presumption of innocence is observed; (b) Provide the Committee with information on the number of cases of excessive use of force by law enforcement officials that have been investigated, disaggregated by age, gender and ethnic or national origin of the victims; the number of perpetrators who have been prosecuted for acts of torture and ill-treatment; and the penalties applied to those found guilty; (c) Prosecute persons suspected of having committed torture or illtreatment and, if they are found guilty, ensure that they receive sentences that are commensurate with the gravity of their acts and that the victims are afforded appropriate redress; (d) Ensure that offences motivated by discrimination constitute an aggravating circumstance in criminal prosecution; (e) Establish an independent monitoring and oversight mechanism that complies with the requirement of institutional independence in order to avoid conflict of interest in the investigation of complaints by peers; 4