E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.1 page 21 “Article 293 - Coercion to testify “293.1. The coercion of a suspect, an accused person, a victim of crime or a witness to testify and of an expert to give an expert opinion by an investigator or inquirer with the use of threats, blackmail and other illegal measures shall be punished with up to 3 years’ imprisonment. “293.2. The same acts committed with the use of violence, humiliation or torture of a victim shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than 3 years and not exceeding 7 years.” 75. Therefore, the crime of torture is now well established under Azerbaijani criminal law. Owing to the recent adoption of these provisions, no case law is yet available to understand how these provisions will be interpreted by the judiciary. The Special Rapporteur also notes that, according to information received from non-governmental sources, including lawyers, the Criminal Code had not been published at the time of his visit although it was meant to enter into force on 1 June 2000. 76. According to information provided by the Government, the issue of extradition of a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture has been addressed in the draft Law on Extradition and meets international standards. No particular concerns had been expressed to the Special Rapporteur regarding this issue prior to or during the mission. 77. Finally, the Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction that Azerbaijan became a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty in January 1999. It nevertheless entered a reservation under which the death penalty could be applied for grave crimes committed in wartime or under threat of war, and the Criminal Code was amended to this effect in October. The Special Rapporteur considers that measures towards the abolition of the death penalty constitute progress in the elimination of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. B. Arrest and detention 78. It must be noted that interpretations of the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code in force at the time of the Special Rapporteur’s visit regarding arrest and detention varied from one institution to another. As the Special Rapporteur was not provided with the English version of the relevant provisions, the various interpretations he was given by officials, in particular during visits to detention places, will be recorded below. It must be noted that this lack of knowledge of the law certainly leads to situations of excessive and arbitrary detention periods which are said to be conducive to torture and other forms of ill-treatment. Emphasis is put in this section on the provisions of the new Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes which were said to enter into force on 1 June 2000 and 1 September 2000, respectively. 79. According to officers of the Department to Combat Organized Crime, article 430 of the Criminal Procedure Code in force at that time provided that a person can be kept in custody by