A/69/44 The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Adopt legislation explicitly prohibiting the use of evidence obtained through torture, in line with article 15 of the Convention, and ensure its implementation; (b) Ensure that judges and prosecutors initiate investigations and take other appropriate remedial measures ex officio whenever a criminal defendant or his or her lawyer presents reasonable grounds to believe that a confession has been obtained through torture or ill-treatment, and ensure that the perpetrators of such abuses are prosecuted and, upon conviction, punished, including in the case of Farrukh Gapiurov; (c) Ensure that the findings of independent forensic medical examinations of criminal defendants who allege that they were tortured are considered admissible as evidence in court proceedings and given evidentiary weight equivalent to that given to the reports of State-employed medical professionals, where appropriate. National human rights institution (14) The Committee is concerned that the organization and the prerogatives of the Office of the Ombudsman do not comply with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles), especially concerning the tenure and selection process for the Ombudsman and lack of independence. The Committee regrets that the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) Act establishes that, if the annual report is not approved, the Ombudsman may be removed from his or her post (CAT/C/KGZ/2, para. 64). The Committee notes that the State party envisages adopting a draft law to strengthen the Office of the Ombudsman (arts. 2, 11 and 13). The State party should bring the Office of the Ombudsman into compliance with the Paris Principles, inter alia by ensuring its independence and providing adequate resources for its operation. National preventive mechanism (15) While welcoming the establishment of the National Centre of the Kyrgyz Republic for the Prevention of Torture, the Committee remains concerned that it has not yet begun activities as the country’s national preventive mechanism, mainly due to the inadequate budget (art. 16). The State should ensure that: (a) the National Centre for the Prevention of Torture has the necessary financial, human and material resources to fulfil its mandate independently and effectively; and (b) all persons involved in the administration of places of detention are aware of the rights of members of the National Centre for the Prevention of Torture. Human rights defenders (16) The Committee expresses serious concern at numerous reports of intimidation, reprisals and threats against human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers, as well as at the absence of information on investigations into such allegations (arts. 2, 12 and 16). In particular, the Committee is concerned about: (a) Reports that human rights defenders have been arrested on criminal charges, apparently in retaliation for their work: and trials in which numerous due process violations have been reported, including regarding the aforementioned case of Azimjan Askarov; (b) The State party’s failure to prevent and punish physical attacks against lawyers, perpetrated both inside and outside the courts, as seen in the violent attacks on 40 GE.14-12596