CAT/C/TKM/CO/1 parties, from the very outset of detention. The Committee is concerned that the Criminal Code allows police officers to detain a person without the authorization of the prosecutor general for 72 hours and without presentation to a judge for up to one year. It is reported that detainees are frequently denied access to a lawyer and that violence is inflicted by police officers to extract confessions during that period of time. The Committee notes with concern reports that torture and ill-treatment of minors is widespread at the moment of apprehension and during pretrial detention (CRC/C/TKM/CO/1, para. 36) (arts. 2, 11 and 12). The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Ensure that all detainees are afforded, in practice, all fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of their detention, including the rights to prompt access to a lawyer and a medical examination by an independent doctor, to contact family members, to be informed of their rights at the time of detention, including about the charges laid against them, and to appear before a judge promptly; (b) Ensure that minors have a lawyer and their parents or legal guardians present at every phase of a proceeding, including during questioning by a police officer; (c) Ensure that all detainees, including minors, are included in a central register of persons deprived of liberty and that the register can be accessed by lawyers and family members of those detained and others as appropriate; (d) Take measures to ensure the audio- or videotaping of all interrogations in police stations and detention facilities as a further means to prevent torture and illtreatment. Independence of the judiciary 10. The Committee is deeply concerned at the ineffective functioning of justice system, apparently caused in part by the lack of independence of the procuracy and judiciary, as was noted by the Secretary-General in 2006 (A/61/489, para. 46). The Committee regrets that responsibility for the appointment and promotion of judges rests with the President, which jeopardizes the independence of the judiciary. The Committee express its concern about the case of Ilmurad Nurliev, a Protestant pastor who was convicted of swindling following a trial that allegedly violated numerous fair trial and due process standards (arts. 2 and 13). The State party should take measures to establish and ensure the independence and impartiality of the judiciary in the performance of duties in conformity with international standards, notably the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary. The State party should also permit an impartial and independent review of Mr. Nurliev’s conviction. Complaint mechanisms and investigations; impunity 11. The Committee is deeply concerned that allegations of torture and ill-treatment by State officers are seldom investigated and prosecuted, and that there appears to be a climate of impunity resulting in the lack of meaningful disciplinary action or criminal prosecution against persons of authority accused of acts specified in the Convention (arts. 2, 11, 12, 13 and 16). In particular, the Committee is concerned about: (a) The lack of an independent and effective complaint mechanism for receiving and conducting impartial and full investigations into allegations of torture, in particular of convicted prisoners and pretrial detainees; 4