CCPR/C/LVA/CO/3
prosecuted and, if convicted, punished with appropriate sanctions, and the victims are
adequately compensated;
(d)
Improve its research and data collection methods in order to establish
the magnitude of the problem, its causes and the consequences for women;
(e)
Ensure adequate assistance, including psychosocial counselling, and the
availability of a sufficient number of adequately resourced shelters.
Right to life
10.
The Committee is concerned about deficiencies in reporting on the results of
investigations and prosecutions and the application of appropriate penalties in instances of
death in places of detention (including cases of suicide and drug intoxication). The
Committee is also concerned about the lack of an independent mechanism for examination
of instances of death in psychiatric institutions (art. 6).
The State party should ensure that all instances of death in places of detention are
properly investigated and reported. The State party should also ensure that
independent reviews and evaluations of the work of the commissions established
following a death in a psychiatric institution, which only consist of medical personnel
and members of the administration of the hospital concerned, are carried out
periodically.
Torture
11.
The Committee is concerned that the penalties for acts of torture, stipulated in
several articles of the Criminal Law, do not represent appropriate sanctions for such
criminal acts and that acts of torture are subject to a statute of limitations, the duration of
which is not commensurate with the gravity of the crime. The Committee is also concerned
at reports of inadequate observance of article 7 of the Covenant in the context of
extraditions (art. 7).
The State party should:
(a)
Include torture as a specific crime in the Criminal Law and stipulate
sanctions for acts of torture which are commensurate with the gravity of such
offences;
(b)
Amend the statute of limitations for acts of torture to be commensurate
with the duration of statutory limitations for other crimes of a serious nature under
the law of the State party, so that all acts of torture, including attempted acts of
torture and complicity and participation in their commission, can be effectively
investigated, and as relevant, prosecuted and punished;
(c)
Ensure that it complies with the requirements of article 7 of the
Covenant when determining the permissibility of extraditions.
Investigation of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officers
12.
The Committee notes with satisfaction the intention of the State party to reform the
Internal Security Office of the State Police, as well as the Prison Authority; however, it
remains concerned that the Internal Security Office of the State Police and the Prison
Authority, which are mandated to investigate unlawful conduct by members of the police
and prison staff, are not fully independent, as complaints are investigated by a police force
investigator and senior members of the prison authority. The Committee is also concerned
at continued reports of instances of physical violence and ill-treatment of detainees by law
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