A/HRC/13/39/Add.4 no investigation judge in Cogo. In general, he said the maximum period of detention before transfer to a judge would be three days. With respect to illegal immigrants that were arrested in the area of Cogo, they would also be transferred to Bata Central Police Station. The Special Rapporteur requested to see the cells used by the police in the military camp. However he was denied access by the police and the military. Police Station Mbini Visited on 16 November 2008 General information: At Mbini Police Station, the Special Rapporteur was told by the officer in charge that the police station did not have a place to detain people. However, at the back of the building, the Special Rapporteur found a separate stonewalled room that showed several signs indicating that one or more persons had recently been held there, including several plastic bottles filled with urine. When the Special Rapporteur asked to speak to the Chief of Police in Mbini, he was told that the Police Chief was not in town, and that he had to speak to the Government Delegate of Mbini first. At the Government Delegate’s residence, the Special Residence and his delegation were warmly received. However, the Delegate did not comment on the detention facilities since he had not received any instructions from the Minister of Interior. Central Gendarmerie Post Bomudi - Bata Visited on 17 November 2008 General information: The post consisted of a two story building. A spacious cell of about 20 sqm, with electric light and some mosquito coils on the floor, was located on the ground floor. The Special Rapporteur was received by Crispin Ntutumu Bibang (Captain) and Jesus Edu Moto (Jefe de cuerpo, highest chief of the Gendarmerie at national level) who was present only for a very short time. Crispin Nututumu provided the Special Rapporteur with a list of detainees which included the day, reason of arrest, age and residence. It contained entries in relation to six detainees; four of whom were in the cell, while, according to the officials, two were working outside during the day. Detainees were not allowed to leave the cells when visited by family members, but had to communicate through a tiny opening separating the window covered with a metal shield. According to the detainees, they were not allowed to leave the cell to go to the toilet, but had to use plastic bottles and bags. Detainees also said they were not allowed to contact their families to inform them of their arrest. When the Special Rapporteur asked one of the officers to call the relatives of one of the detainees to inform them about the arrest, the officer first said that that was too expensive and that the telephone did not work. However, he later tried to reach the family of the detainee, to no avail. Crispin Nututumu, the Captain and officer in charge, had served with the Gendarmerie in France for five years, where he underwent some training. He explained that in Equatorial Guinea he participated in a human rights course given by the Ministry of Justice where he learned that ill-treatment of detainees was prohibited. Consequently, the gendarmerie ceased to use electroshocks that had been used earlier during interrogation. He explained that persons suspected of having committed small offences would be treated well; however he admitted that suspected criminals were threatened with some violence in order to intimidate them. Detainees were sometimes threatened with being thrown in the sea. He explained that often mere threats of torture would help to make detainees more “cooperative”. 42