CCPR/C/LVA/CO/3
enforcement personnel and the low numbers of effective investigations and disciplinary
sanctions for such acts (arts. 2, 7 and 10).
The State party should:
(a)
Take appropriate measures to establish an independent mechanism to
carry out investigations of alleged misconduct by police officers and prison staff;
(b)
Ensure that law enforcement personnel continue to receive training on
the investigation of torture and ill-treatment, on the basis of the Istanbul Protocol
(Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment);
(c)
Ensure that allegations of torture and ill-treatment are effectively
investigated and that alleged perpetrators are prosecuted and, if convicted, punished
with appropriate sanctions and that the victims are adequately compensated;
(d)
Safeguard the effectiveness of the complaints mechanisms for reporting
cases of ill-treatment and abuse in prisons.
Detention on remand
13.
The Committee is concerned about instances of lengthy detention on remand at the
pretrial phase of criminal proceedings, large numbers of detainees on remand, amounting to
around 29 per cent of the incarcerated population, and the practice of lengthy police
detention for administrative offences. The Committee also regrets the absence of data on
the length of pretrial detention on remand and the frequency of its application (arts. 9
and 14).
The State party should take urgent measures to reduce the length and frequency of
pretrial detention on remand and devise alternative measures to incarceration;
compile reliable data on the length and frequency of pretrial detention; and eliminate
the practice of detention for administrative offences from its system of law
enforcement.
Asylum seekers
14.
The Committee is concerned about the lack of clear legal grounds, on the basis of
which asylum seekers may be placed in detention upon arrival, reports of the protracted
detention of asylum seekers, including children, in facilities with poor conditions and
obstacles in gaining access to asylum procedures at some border crossings. The Committee
is also concerned at the determination of refugee or asylum status through the accelerated
procedure. It also regrets reported expulsions of refugees and asylum seekers based on
article 3 of the Asylum Law, before an appeal against deportation has been adjudicated, if
they are regarded as posing a threat to national security or public order and safety,
notwithstanding the possible exposure of those deported to a violation of their rights under
article 7 of the Covenant in the country of return (arts. 7, 9, 10 and 13).
The State party should:
(a)
Ensure strict respect for the principle of non-refoulement;
(b)
Amend the Asylum Law to establish safeguards against the arbitrary
detention of asylum seekers and ensure that all persons in need of international
protection receive appropriate and fair treatment at all stages and can benefit from
procedural safeguards, in particular during the accelerated procedure;
5