CAT/C/YEM/CO/2 any investigations into the many reported cases of detention during the “Bani Hashish events” of May 2008. 9. Hostage-taking of relatives 14. The Committee expresses its great concern at the reported practice of holding relatives of alleged criminals, including children and elderly, as hostages, sometimes for years at a time, to compel the alleged criminals to surrender themselves to the police; it also emphasizes that such practice is a violation of the Convention. In this respect, the Committee notes with particular concern the case of Mohammed Al-Baadani, who was abducted in 2001, at age 14, by a tribal chief because of his father’s failure to pay back debts, and who reportedly remains in a State prison without a set trial date (arts. 12 and 16). The State party should, as a matter of priority, discontinue its practice of holding relatives of alleged criminals as hostages, and punish the perpetrators. The State party should also provide an update on the case of Mohammed Al-Baadani. 10. Allegations of extrajudicial killings 15. The Committee expresses its great concern at allegations of extrajudicial killings by security forces and other serious human rights violations in different parts of the country, in particular the northern Sa’ada province and in the south (arts. 2, 12 and 16). The State party should take effective steps to investigate promptly and impartially all allegations of involvement of members of law enforcement and security agencies in extrajudicial killings and other serious human rights violations in different parts of the country, in particular the northern Sa’ada province and in the south. 11. Complaints and prompt and impartial investigations 16. The Committee remains concerned at the apparent failure to investigate promptly and impartially the numerous allegations of torture and ill-treatment and to prosecute alleged offenders. The Committee is particularly concerned at the lack of clarity of which authority has the overall responsibility for reviewing individual complaints of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement, security, military and prison officials, and for initiating investigations in such cases. The Committee also regrets the lack of information, including statistics, on the number of complaints of torture and ill-treatment and results of all the proceedings, at both the penal and disciplinary levels, and their outcomes (arts. 11, 12 and 16). The State party should strengthen its measures to ensure prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigation into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment committed by law enforcement, security, military and prison officials. In particular, such investigations should not be undertaken by or under the authority of the police or military, but by an independent body. In connection with prima facie cases of torture and ill-treatment, the alleged suspect should as a rule be subject to suspension or reassignment during the process of investigation, to avoid any risk that he or she might impede the investigation or continue any reported impermissible actions in breach of the Convention. The State party should prosecute the perpetrators and impose appropriate sentences on those convicted in order to ensure that State officials who are responsible for violations prohibited by the Convention are held accountable. The Committee requests the State party to provide information, including statistics, on the number of complaints of torture and ill-treatment and results of all the proceedings, at both the penal and disciplinary levels, and their outcomes. This 6 GE.09-46826