32.The Committee expresses concern about the following: (a)The absence in domestic law of a comprehensive definition of torture as set out in article 1 of the Convention; (b)Numerous allegations of ill-treatment of persons in custody, in particular during police interviews, which may amount to torture and which disproportionately affect the Roma; (c)The lack of an independent system to investigate complaints, and that allegations of ill-treatment are not always investigated promptly and impartially, resulting in an apparent situation of impunity for those responsible; (d)The reported lack of prompt and adequate access by persons in custody to legal and medical assistance and to family members, and that access to free legal aid is quite limited and ineffective in practice. Furthermore, the reported inconsistencies in providing the required medical records to detainees hinder their ability to lodge complaints and seek redress; (e)Poor conditions in homes for persons with mental disabilities and the insufficient steps taken thus far by the authorities to address this situation, including the failure to amend the legislation relating to involuntary placement in such an institution for purposes of evaluation and the lack of judicial appeal and review procedures; (f)The legislative and other measures to ensure full respect of the provisions of article 3 of the Convention continue to be insufficiently effective, and that the allegations regarding the expulsion of foreigners, especially by order of the National Security Service on national security grounds, is not subject to judicial review; (g)The insufficient data relating to compensation and rehabilitation available to victims of torture or their dependants in accordance with article 14 of the Convention; (h)The extremely poor material conditions prevailing in detention facilities, in particular in investigative detention facilities, some of which are still underground or lack basic facilities for outdoor activities, where persons can be held for up to two years, and the lack of independent inspections of such places; (i)The imposition of a particularly strict regime, notably for the first five years, upon all prisoners serving life sentences. D. Recommendations 33. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Adopt a definition of torture that covers all the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention and incorporate into the Penal Code a definition of a crime of torture that clearly reflects this definition. Furthermore, the Committee invites the State party to consider the advisability of incorporating into law the provisions of Ministry of the Interior instruction No. I 167; (b) Strengthen the safeguards provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure against ill treatment and torture and pursue efforts to reduce incidents of ill-treatment by police and other public officials, and devise modalities for collecting disaggregated data and monitoring the occurrence of such acts in order to address the issue more effectively. The State party is encouraged to pursue its efforts to recruit persons of Roma origin into the police; (c) Take measures to establish an effective, reliable and independent complaint system to initiate and undertake prompt and impartial investigations into all allegations of ill treatment or torture and to punish those found responsible. The Committee requests that the State party provide it with statistical data regarding such reported cases and the results of the investigations, disaggregated by, inter alia, gender, ethnic group, geographical region and type and location of places of deprivation of liberty where they occurred; (d) Ensure that, in law as well as in practice, all persons deprived of their liberty are duly registered at the place of custody and guaranteed, and informed of, the rights to have access to counsel, to contact next of kin and to a doctor. In this respect an independent free legal aid system for detainees should be established. Strict rules on the maintenance of medical records for all detained persons should be established and rigorously adhered to; (e) Undertake all necessary measures to address the situation in homes and hospitals of persons with mental disabilities to ensure that the living conditions, therapy and rehabilitation provided are not in violation of the requirements of the Convention. The Committee also urges the State party to ensure that the placement of children in social care homes is regularly reviewed. It urges the State party to provide monitoring and reassessment of diagnoses by specialists, with appropriate appeal procedures; (f) Ensure that no person is expelled, returned or extradited to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that he/she would be in danger of being subjected to torture and that, in accordance with article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention, exceptional circumstances are not invoked as a justification for so doing and to this end, consider measures to enable monitoring at airports, borders and other points of removal; (g) Strengthen its efforts to avoid any act not in conformity with the Convention regarding admittance of asylum-seekers into the territory and strengthen cooperation between the State Agency for Refugees and the Ministry of the Interior; (h) Ensure that all persons who have been victims of a violation of their rights under the Convention have access, in law as well as in practice, to the means of obtaining redress, including an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation;