A/67/44 State party should also ensure that all public officials who engage in conduct that constitutes torture or ill-treatment are charged accordingly, and that the penalty for this crime reflects the gravity of the act of torture, as required by article 4 of the Convention. The State party should further ensure that persons convicted of torture or other acts amounting thereto under the Criminal Code are not subject to any statute of limitations, and that the authorities are obligated to investigate and punish persons for such acts regardless of assertions of reconciliation between the defendant(s) and the victim(s). Fundamental legal safeguards (11) Notwithstanding the safeguards provided by law, in Government Decision No. 574N of June 2008 and Chief of Police instruction 12-C of April 2010, and by the Court of Cassation in its December 2009 decision in the case of G. Mikaelyan, the Committee expresses its serious concern about reports received regarding the State party’s failure in practice to afford all detainees all fundamental safeguards from the very outset of their de facto deprivation of liberty, including timely access to a lawyer and a medical doctor and the right to contact family members. The Committee is concerned by reports that police officials do not keep accurate records of all periods of deprivation of liberty; do not afford fundamental safeguards to individuals in detention, particularly persons deprived of their liberty for whom a protocol of detention has not been drawn up; do not effectively notify detainees of their rights at the time of detention; do not adhere to the three-day time limit for transferring people deprived of their liberty from a police station to a detention facility; and do not promptly bring detainees before a judge. The Committee also notes that the number of public defenders in the State party remains insufficient (art. 2). In the context of the current legislation reform, including the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code, the State party should take prompt and effective measures to ensure, in law and in practice, that all detainees are afforded all legal safeguards from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty. These include the rights to access to a lawyer, to an independent medical examination, to notify a relative, to be informed of their rights, and to be brought promptly before a judge. The State party should take measures to ensure audio- or videotaping of all interrogations in police stations and detention facilities as a further preventive measure. The Committee encourages the State party to implement as soon as possible its plan to require police to create an electronic protocol of detention immediately upon the de facto deprivation of liberty of persons in police stations. The State party should ensure access to these records by lawyers and relatives of those detained. The State party should increase the funding provided to the Public Defender’s Office of the Chamber of Advocates to ensure the availability of effective legal aid. Investigations and impunity (12) The Committee is deeply concerned that allegations of torture and/or ill-treatment committed by law enforcement officials and military personnel are not promptly, impartially or effectively investigated and prosecuted. The Committee is particularly concerned by reports that the Office of the Prosecutor directs the police to investigate some claims of torture and ill-treatment allegedly perpetrated by police officers, rather than assign these complaints to an independent investigation service. In this regard, it is concerned that the Office of the Prosecutor does not regularly ensure that different prosecutors supervise the investigation of a crime and allegations of torture made against police officials by the suspected perpetrator of that crime. The Committee is also concerned that the Special Investigation Service has been unable to gather sufficient evidence to identify the perpetrators in a number of cases in which torture or ill-treatment by officials was alleged, leading to concerns regarding its effectiveness. The Committee is further GE.12-44492 109