A/HRC/4/33/Add.2 Page 113 imposed against civil servants convicted of torture can neither be suspended nor commuted to other forms of penalties. Any allegations are investigated seriously and diligently by the judicial authorities. No provision exists in Turkish legislation that affords legal protection to law enforcement officials of any rank, against the offences of torture or ill-treatment. No prior permission from the Ministry of Justice is necessary in order to prosecute a law enforcement official, regardless of the rank, on charges of torture or ill-treatment. Article 53, paragraph 1/a of the Penal Code allows the courts to rule on temporary or permanent suspension from duty of public officials who are convicted of offences that they have committed wilfully. 634. Recommendation (g) stated: Prosecutors and the judiciary should speed up the trials and appeals of public officials indicted for torture or ill-treatment. Sentences should be commensurate with the gravity of the crime. The protection against prosecution afforded by the Law on the Prosecution of Public Servants should be removed. 635. According to information received from NGOs and other sources, legal provisions of 2003 aimed at speedy trials of public officials indicted for torture were abolished by the entry into force of the Code of Criminal Procedure on 1 June 2005. Examples show that some trials can last from four up to 15 years or more. Although the new Code of Criminal Procedure foresees more severe penalties for the crime of torture, they are rarely imposed and often reduced or suspended. The protection afforded by the Law on the Prosecution of Public Servants is still in force. However, it was amended to that effect that it cannot be applied to cases of alleged torture or ill-treatment, at least not for ordinary members of the security forces. Chiefs are still legally protected and an investigation against them requires the permission of the Ministry of Justice. 636. The Government informed that, after the May 2004 Constitutional changes stipulating, inter alia, the superiority of international agreements in the area of fundamental rights and freedoms to domestic laws, judges should take into account the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) when they consider cases. To ensure that the judges are aware of all decisions, the Ministry of Justice publishes a periodical named “Bulletin of the Judicial Legislation” which disseminates the Turkish translations of recent Court rulings. 637. Recommendation (h) stated: Any public official indicted for infliction of or complicity in torture or ill-treatment should be suspended from duty. 638. According to information received from NGOs and other sources, public officials indicted for torture or ill-treatment are not suspended from duty. On the contrary, they receive institutional legal aid in order to defend themselves. 639. The Government provided the following statistics (T = torture, I = Ill-treatment): Years Cases Suspension from duty Penalties imposed upon conviction Dismissals Pending trial 1996 4 T, 42 I 2T 2 T, 18 I 2I 1997 6 T, 61 I 2 T, 3 I 2 T, 26 I 7I