CAT/C/VEN/CO/3-4 (c) Ensure that no individual or group is threatened or subjected to physical or other abuse or publicly discredited for providing information to the Committee against Torture or to other United Nations human rights bodies that are performing their respective mandates. Extrajudicial killings 15. The Committee is dismayed by reports of a widespread pattern of extrajudicial killings committed by police or vigilante groups and notes that, according to the replies to the list of issues, 667 killings were committed by law enforcement officers in 2012 and 600 in 2013. Some of those killings reportedly occurred despite measures in place to protect victims, as was true of 8 of the 10 killings of members of the Barrios family (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The State party should take steps immediately to put an end to these crimes and comply fully with its obligation to ensure that extrajudicial killings are investigated promptly, thoroughly and impartially and that the alleged perpetrators are brought to justice and, if found guilty, duly punished. Judicial independence 16. The Committee is seriously concerned about the judiciary’s lack of independence from the executive branch, as evidenced by the case of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, who, having ordered the conditional release of a detainee whose detention had exceeded the legal maximum length and had been considered arbitrary by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, was imprisoned after the executive had publicly requested that she be sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment. The Committee notes that Judge Afiuni was held in pretrial detention for more than a year in conditions that threatened her health and safety and is deeply troubled by reports that she was sexually assaulted by a public official during her detention. The Committee finds it regrettable that, even though this offence was a publicly actionable one, the State has thus far not on its own motion instigated an investigation. The Committee also notes with concern that security of judicial tenure is not guaranteed, since 62 per cent of judges are temporary and can be appointed or removed at will. The Committee is concerned that the prosecution of Ms. Afiuni and the dismissal of temporary judges, allegedly for adopting decisions unfavourable to the Government, have had a negative impact on the independence of other judges, undermining the safeguards of the rule of law that are necessary for effective protection against torture (arts. 2, 12 and 13). The State party should: (a) Conduct promptly and of its own motion a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment in the form of sexual assault allegedly committed against María Lourdes Afiuni during her detention at the National Women’s Guidance Institute; (b) Ensure that Ms. Afiuni receives a fair and independent trial and adequate compensation for the physical and mental harm she suffered during her detention; (c) Respect the principle of presumption of innocence and refrain from public acts or statements that could have a negative influence on the independence of the judiciary; (d) Take steps, as a matter of urgency, to ensure the full independence and non-removability of judges in conformity with applicable international standards. Specifically, the State party should, as soon as possible, organize independently administered public competitive examinations for entry into the judiciary, put an end GE.14-24172 7