E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.3 page 41 245. Recommendation (f) stated: Prosecutors and judges should diligently investigate all allegations of torture made by detainees. In the case of prosecutors in the State Security Courts, allegations should also be referred to the public prosecutor for criminal investigation. The investigation of the allegations should be conducted by the prosecutor himself or herself and the necessary staff should be provided for this purpose. 246. The Government reported that article 16 (4) of the Act on the Establishment and Trial Procedures of State Security Courts has been repealed. Accordingly, the provisions of the Code of Penal Procedure protecting the rights of apprehended or arrested persons are now applicable to criminal offences falling under the jurisdiction of State Security Courts. 247. 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. 248. The Government reported that article 2 of the Act on the Prosecution of Civil Servants and Other Public Employees has been amended and new provisions have been introduced that make it possible to prosecute public employees in cases of torture and mistreatment. 249. Penalties for offences related to torture and mistreatment indicated in articles 243 and 245 of the Penal Code may no longer be converted into fines and may not be suspended. 250. A new article has been added to the Penal Code which introduces punishment for those who prevent convicts and detainees from exercising their rights. The article also introduces punishment (two to four years in prison) for those who prevent convicts and detainees from taking nourishment. In this context, encouragement or persuasion of convicts and detainees to undertake hunger strikes and death fasts are considered as prevention of taking nourishment. In the case of death resulting from preventing a convict or detainee from taking nourishment, the perpetrator is to be sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. 251. Recommendation (h) stated: Any public official indicted for infliction of or complicity in torture or ill-treatment should be suspended from duty. 252. Recommendation (i) stated: The police and jandarma should establish effective procedures for internal monitoring and disciplining of the behaviour of their agents, in particular with a view to eliminating practices of torture and ill-treatment. 253. Recommendation (j) stated: The practice of blindfolding detainees in police custody should be absolutely forbidden. 254. Recommendation (k) stated: Given the manifestly pervasive practice of torture, at least up to 1996, there should be a review by an independent body of undisputed integrity of all cases in which the primary evidence against convicted persons is a confession allegedly made under torture. All police officials, including the most senior, found to have