A/67/44 Committee regrets that the statute of limitations for torture cases is, at most, 10 years, and that it is only in cases of genocide or crimes against humanity that no statute of limitations applies (arts. 1 and 4). The State party should amend this Act in consideration of the fact that torture, because of its serious nature, should not be subject to a statute of limitations. The use of appropriate penalties and the absence of a statute of limitations increase the deterrent effect of the prohibition of torture. They also enable the public to monitor State action or inaction that violates the Convention and, if necessary, to challenge it. Non-justification of torture and thorough, impartial investigations (8) The Committee is deeply concerned about the numerous reports of human rights violations since the onset of the 2009 political crisis — including torture, summary and extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances — that have neither been investigated, nor prosecuted. The Committee is concerned about reports that the use of torture is politically motivated and used against political opponents, journalists and lawyers (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16). The State party should take appropriate measures to carry out independent, thorough and impartial investigations into human rights violations, including cases of torture, ill-treatment, summary executions and enforced disappearances, and ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted and punished. No circumstance, including domestic political instability, may serve to justify torture, and no political or any other type of agreement should permit an amnesty for the perpetrators of the most heinous offences committed during the political crisis. The State party should strengthen the complaints mechanisms available to victims and ensure that they obtain redress and are provided with the means of achieving social reintegration and psychological rehabilitation. The State party should ensure that persons lodging such complaints, witnesses and members of their families are protected from any act of intimidation in connection with their complaint or testimony. The Committee invites the State party to include statistics in its next periodic report on the number of complaints of torture or ill-treatment made and on the number of criminal convictions handed down or disciplinary measures taken in such cases, including those that occurred during the de facto state of emergency in 2009. The information should include the identity of the investigating authorities and should be broken down by the sex, age and ethnic origin of the persons filing the complaints. Basic legal safeguards (9) The Committee notes that, when suspects are arrested, they are rarely informed of their right to be examined by a physician, that they do not receive proper medical examinations and that persons held in custody sometimes encounter problems in gaining access to their lawyers or family members. The Committee considers that the extension of the duration of pretrial detention to 12 days is excessive. The Committee is seriously concerned about the fact that in several cases pretrial detention has extended beyond acceptable periods (arts. 2, 12, 13, 15 and 16). In the light of the Committee’s general comment No. 2 on the implementation of article 2, the State party should redouble its efforts to ensure that from the outset detainees benefit in practice from all the basic legal guarantees. These guarantees include in particular the obligation to inform such persons of their rights and of the charges against them and the rights of detainees to prompt legal assistance and, where necessary, legal aid; to an independent medical examination by, if possible, a physician of their choice; to notify a relative; and to be brought before a judge without delay. 56 GE.12-44492