E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.1
page 19
was immediately sentenced to one day of administrative detention. According to Mr. Gurbanov,
someone later added another number “1”, making his sentence 11 days’ detention. He was also
later charged with resisting the police. One police officer, a friend of Mr. Gurbanov, is said to
have confessed to him that he had been threatened with being fired if he did not complain against
him. Mr. Gurbanov reportedly refused a State-appointed lawyer and was asked to sign a
confession. On 4 May, he was reportedly transferred to Bailov where he met the Special
Rapporteur on 12 May. He had been on hunger strike for the previous two days in protest of the
fact that his case had not been investigated.
68.
The head of the Law Enforcement Bodies Department of the Executive Administration of
the President informed the Special Rapporteur that 42 police officers had obtained medical
certificates indicating that they had suffered injuries.
69.
Harassment of journalists covering demonstrations was reportedly widespread. It was,
however, recognized by journalists themselves that arrests of journalists had recently become
less frequent. During the 29 April demonstration at least 17 journalists were allegedly beaten by
the police. In particular, the Special Rapporteur received information on Mustafa Hajiev, a
famous journalist whose two brothers are leaders of political opposition parties (see para. 66
above). He was allegedly severely beaten with batons, especially on the arms and the head,
while taking pictures of demonstrators being beaten. He did not try to get a medical certificate
since he believed that the police would not issue the necessary instructions. It was also reported
that following this demonstration journalists were prevented from meeting persons who had been
arrested.
II. PROTECTION OF DETAINEES AGAINST TORTURE
A. Prohibition of torture
70.
Article 46 of the Constitution which entered into force on 27 November 1995 provides
that “[n]o one shall be tortured or humiliated. No one shall be subjected to degrading treatment
or punishment.”
71.
The Criminal Code in force at the time of the mission of the Special Rapporteur did not
include any specific provision regarding torture. However three provisions were said by official
interlocutors and lawyers to cover the crime of torture: Articles 167 on abuse of
authority, 168 on actions ultra vires and 177 on coercion to testify.3 A number of other
provisions of the Criminal Code, such as articles 102, 105 and 106 concerning various degrees of
deliberate bodily harm and article 108 on beatings and systematic violence, were said to also
encompass the notion of torture. Despite his requests, the Special Rapporteur was not provided
with any case law which would have allowed him to understand how these provisions had been
used to ensure that acts falling within his mandate were criminally prosecuted. He notes that,
according to non-governmental sources, very few legal proceedings had reportedly been initiated
under these provisions in the past. Only the most serious cases, such as deaths from torture
which had provoked public outcry, were said to have been prosecuted.
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