A/69/44 article 14 by States parties, which affirm that amnesties for the crime of torture are incompatible with the obligations of States parties. The events in Andijan in 2005 (11) The Committee remains concerned that there have been no full and effective investigations into the numerous claims of excessive use of force by officials during the events of May 2005 in Andijan. The Committee recalls that the acts of the Uzbek officials resulted, according to the State party, in 187 deaths and according to other sources, 700 or more deaths, as well as in numerous detentions, and that the Committee is not aware of cases in which law enforcement personnel were prosecuted for using excessive force against civilians, arbitrary detention, or torture and ill-treatment of persons taken into custody in connection with the events. The Committee further remains concerned that the State party has limited and obstructed, and therefore prevented, independent human rights monitoring in the aftermath of these events and has not permitted any independent investigation into these events, declaring that in its view the events of May 2005 are “closed” (arts. 1, 4, 12, 13 and 16). The Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party should take effective measures to institute a full, effective and impartial inquiry into the events of May 2005 in Andijan, in order to ensure that alleged violations of the Convention are investigated and the individuals found responsible are properly punished and victims obtain redress. The Committee recommends that credible, independent experts conduct this inquiry and that the results be made available to the public. Sexual violence (12) The Committee is concerned at the reports it has received that the authorities have perpetrated or acquiesced in, threatened to perpetrate and threatened to acquiesce in acts by other prisoners of sexual violence against individuals deprived of their liberty. It notes in particular the cases of human rights defender Mutabar Tajebaeva, who alleges that she was forcibly sterilized against her will while imprisoned in March 2008; Katum Ortikov, who alleges that he was subjected to sexual violence and threatened by police that he would be raped by another inmate while in custody in January 2009; Rayhon and Nargiza Soatova, who allege that they were gang-raped by police while in custody in May 2009; Mehrinisso and Zulhumor Hamdamova, who allege that that they were forced to strip and threatened with rape by police while in custody in November 2009; and human rights defender Gulnaza Yuldasheva, who alleges that she was threatened by police with rape while in custody in 2012. The Committee’s concerns are amplified by the claims of the State party that there have been no cases in which it has received complaints of sexual violence against persons deprived of their liberty since the Committee’s previous review (arts. 2 and 11). The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that thorough investigations are undertaken of all allegations of torture or ill-treatment, including sexual violence and rape, committed in detention facilities and other places of deprivation of liberty; that those found guilty are prosecuted and punished and that adequate redress and compensation are provided to the victims. Fundamental legal safeguards (13) The Committee expresses its serious concern at the failure of the State party in practice to afford all persons deprived of their liberty with all fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of detention. The Committee is concerned at reports that detainees are frequently denied access to a lawyer of their choice independent of State authority and that police officers forcibly extract confessions in the period immediately following deprivation of liberty. The Committee is also concerned that individuals charged with administrative offences are not provided in law or in practice with sufficient access to independent legal 84 GE.14-12596