RISK FACTORS AND SITUATIONS and consequently reports of violence by law enforcement officials against metis decreased by 98 per cent. 37 In countries with anti-homosexuality laws, police officers may feel that abuse will go unpunished. In the case of Tanzania, where the penalty for consensual sex between men is 30 years to life in prison, Human Rights Watch has documented various cases of homosexual and transgender persons sexually abused and otherwise illtreated by law enforcement officers when arrested. 38 In addition to torture and other ill-treatment, persons suspected of homosexuality are more likely to be exposed to a large array of infractions of procedural safeguards, such as longer time spent in police custody, denial of legal counsel, or denial of requests to contact family members, etc. 39 Monitoring bodies should be well aware of the laws, regulations and procedures regarding arrest and apprehension and check whether they have been complied with in cases involving LGBTI detainees. It is unlikely that monitors will be present at the time of arrest, but during interviews with the detainees concerned, they may have the opportunity to assess whether the arrest was conducted on a discriminatory basis, the use of force was excessive or whether means of restraint were used in a prohibited and/or discriminatory way. The circumstances of the arrest, notably the location (eg. police raid in establishments or public area frequented by sexual minorities), the number of police officers participating and the timing of the arrest (eg. late in the night), the language used etc, can prove useful indicators of police attitudes towards the LGBTI population. ‘No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. Arrest or detention on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, whether pursuant to a court order or otherwise, is arbitrary. All persons under arrest, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, are entitled, on the basis of equality, to be informed of the reasons for arrest and the nature of any charges against them, to be brought promptly before a judicial officer and to bring court proceedings to determine the lawfulness of detention, whether or not charged with any offence. […]’ Yogyakarta Principle 7, The rights to freedom from arbitrary deprivation of liberty 2. Interrogations Similar to the time of arrest, interrogation is also a period of particular risk for the abuse and ill- treatment for LGBTI detainees. Important safeguards include clear procedures on how to conduct interviews, recording (or ideally video-recording) of the interrogation, written records with names of all persons present, and the presence of the detainee’s lawyer. Risks are greater for sexual minorities, as additional threats may be used by law enforcement officers to extort a confession. For example, police officers may threaten to reveal the detainee’s sexual orientation to family members, friends or colleagues to obtain a confession or a transgender person may even be brought to the police station on a false pretext in order to ask them for money or sexual favours in exchange for their freedom. 40 Bribes and extortion by the police may occur not only for the purpose of extracting a confession, but also as a way of securing the person’s release. In countries where homosexuality is criminalised, the risk of a confession being extorted is higher, and the possibility of recourse to law as a means of redress for such abuses is very limited. In Cameroon, for example, with most trials for homosexuality based on confessions, law enforcement officers tend to resort to torture and ill-treatment in order to obtain the ‘evidence’ they are looking for.41 Cases have been documented of people being beaten with truncheons, forced to sleep naked on the floor, threatened with being killed and filmed with cell phones by law enforcement officials.42 Monitors may want to enquire during private interviews with detainees about the ways in which interrogations were conducted and whether physical abuse or ill-treatment took place. The general attitude and the language used by law enforcement officials are key indicators regarding the treatment of LGBTI detainees. Information from registers, notably registers of incidents and medical files, can be useful to cross-check any information gathered. 3. Allocation of transgender detainees The allocation of transgender detainees to detention facilities, and subsequently their placement in units and cells, should be determined with great caution, and the detainees concerned should be consulted on whether they want to be detained in a male or female facility. The Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture has 37. Acco Blue Diamond Society (BDS), the leading organisation working on behalf of the LGBTI community in Nepal. See also An activist’s guide to the Yogyakarta Principles, August, 2010, pp89-91. Available at: www.ypinaction.org/files/02/85/Activists_Guide_English_nov_14_2010.pdf <accessed 7 October 2013>. 38. Human Rights Watch, ‘Treat us like human beings’: discrimination against sex workers, sexual and gender minorities, and people who use drugs in Tanzania, 18 June 2013. 39. See Coupables par association. Violations des droits humains commises dans l’application de la loi contre l’homosexualité au Cameroun, pp48-51, Human Rights Watch, 2013. 40. Such cases were documented in Panama, Brazil and Guatemala, see The night is another country. Impunity and violence against transgender women human rights defenders in Latin America, Redlactrans and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, 2012. 41. Coupables par association. Violations des droits humains commises dans l’application de la loi contre l’homosexualité au Cameroun, Human Rights Watch, 2013. 42. Ibid., pp44-45. 8 | Penal Reform International | LGBTI persons deprived of their liberty: a framework for preventive monitoring