CAT/OP/GAB/1 of the measure imposed on them. The Subcommittee found that thi s right was applied inconsistently depending on the police station or gendarmerie. Nevertheless, most of the persons held in custody who were interviewed testified that their family or a relative had been informed of their detention. The transmission of in formation was facilitated by social proximity and did not necessarily result from the criminal investigation officer applying the law. In a few cases, people were refused permission to notify their family or friends. The Subcommittee also noted that many f oreign detainees, for instance in the gendarmerie in Bifoun and the Libreville criminal investigation department, did not know whether the necessary steps had been taken to inform their consulate. 37. The Subcommittee recommends that the authorities take the necessary measures to ensure that all persons held in custody are able to inform their relatives or friends and, in the case of foreign nationals, a representative of the State of which they are a national, of their detention, and that the information i s duly recorded in the custody register and the police report, in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure. Moreover, criminal investigation officers should ensure that detainees are duly informed of the steps taken on their behalf. Right of access to a lawyer and the legal assistance system 38. The criminal investigation officer must inform the detainee of this right. The interviews conducted by the Subcommittee revealed that persons held in custody are almost never informed of their right to consult a lawyer or the possibility of requesting that they be assigned one ex officio, in line with article 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and that, when they do submit a request, the right is sometimes denied or granted late. The right is therefore not systematically enforced in practice. The interviews conducted by the Subcommittee suggest that access to a lawyer is more common in criminal trials. The Subcommittee also found that there is a shortage of lawyers in small towns, including Lambaréné, making it difficult for the vast majority of detainees to access them, given the costs that can be incurred. 39. The Subcommittee recommends that the authorities guarantee access to a lawyer to all persons from the moment they are taken into custody and throughout legal proceedings, notably by establishing an effective mechanism to provide free legal assistance. The authorities should consider measures to increase the number of lawyers trained in the country each year and to encourage them to establish themselves in the different regions of the country, and allocate an adequate budget for the free legal assistance system. Right to medical examination 40. The right to a medical examination is provided for under article 53 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which stipulates that all persons held in custody must be examined, at their request or that of their family or friends, by a doctor appointed by the Attorney-General or the criminal investigation officer. The Subcommittee noted that access to a medical examination at the request of detainees was not granted systematically, and that there was a lack of medical registers in police and gendarmerie stations. The Subcommittee wishes to draw attention to the importance of a medical examination, since it also constitutes a guarantee against impunity. 41. The Subcommittee recommends that all persons arrested undergo a medical examination as soon as possible after they are brought into custody, especially if they show signs of ill-health, whether ensuing from their arrest or not. These medical examinations should be free and should be performed in accordance with the Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol). GE. 15-10283 9/24