A/66/44 Committee is concerned at: (a) the number of outstanding cases of disappearances identified by the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (63 cases as of 2009), and (b) at the lack of information on progress in investigating disappearances cases for which the State party has been found in violation of articles 2, 3 and 5 under the European Convention of Human Rights (Cyprus v. Turkey and Timurtas v. Turkey of the European Court of Human Rights). The Committee is further concerned at the lack of: (a) information on the effective, independent and transparent investigations into such cases, and, if appropriate, prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators; and (b) due notification of the results of such investigations and prosecutions to family members of individuals who have disappeared. This lack of investigation and follow-up raises serious questions with respect to the State party’s failure to meet its obligations under the Convention and, as concluded by the European Court of Human Rights, constitutes a continuing violation with respect to relatives of the victims (arts. 12 and 13). The State party should take prompt measures to ensure effective, transparent and independent investigations into all outstanding cases of alleged disappearances, including those cited by the European Court of Human Rights (Cyprus v. Turkey and Timurtas v. Turkey) and those identified by the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances. As appropriate, the State party should carry out prosecutions. The State party should notify relatives of the victims of the outcomes of such investigations and prosecutions. The Committee furthermore calls upon the State party to consider signing and ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Extrajudicial killings (10) The Committee is concerned at the scant information provided by the State party with respect to the implementation of the recommendation by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism for the State party to undertake impartial, thorough, transparent and prompt investigations and fair trials in relation to the alleged roles of security forces in incidents of killings in Kiziltepe and Semdinli in 2004 and 2005 respectively (arts. 12 and 13). The State party should undertake prompt, thorough and independent investigations into all alleged cases of extrajudicial killings by security and law enforcement officers and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice and punished with penalties appropriate to the nature of their crimes. Restrictions on fundamental legal safeguards (11) The Committee is concerned at restrictions in the enjoyment of fundamental legal safeguards against torture and ill-treatment as a result of the introduction of new laws and amendments to the 2005 Code of Criminal Procedure. In particular, the Committee is concerned: (a) at the denial of a suspect’s right to contact a lawyer until 24 hours after arrest under the Law on Combating Terrorism (Law No. 3713); (b) at the denial of legal aid for suspects accused of offences carrying a sentence of less than five years of imprisonment (Law No. 5560); (c) at the absence of a statutory right to an independent medical examination; and (d) that the statutory right to immediate access to a medical doctor is restricted to convicted prisoners (art. 94, Law No. 5275). The Committee is concerned at reports of the presence of a public official during the medical examination of a detainee notwithstanding that this is forbidden by law unless the medical personnel so requests for reasons of personal security (art. 2). The State party should ensure by law and in practice that all detainees are guaranteed the right to have prompt access to a lawyer, to notify a family member and to an independent medical examination from the very outset of their detention. The State GE.11-45568 67