CCPR/CO/71/UZB page 2 4. The Committee expresses its satisfaction at the fact that an agreement has been reached between the State party and the International Committee of the Red Cross, by which the Red Cross is authorized to visit Uzbek prisons and to examine conditions in detention facilities. 5. The Committee welcomes the information provided by the State party in relation to its language policy, whereby education at all levels is offered in 10 languages, including the languages of the minority groups. C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations 6. The Committee deplores the State party’s refusal to reveal the number of persons who have been executed or condemned to death, and the grounds for their conviction, both during the time covered by the report and during the time elapsed since then. The State party should provide such information as soon as possible, to enable the Committee to monitor the State party’s compliance with article 6 of the Covenant. 7. Taking into account article 7 of the Covenant, the Committee is gravely concerned about consistent allegations of widespread torture, inhuman treatment and abuse of power by law enforcement officials. The Committee is also concerned about the limited number of investigations into allegations of torture. The State party should ensure that all allegations of torture are properly investigated and the persons responsible prosecuted. Complaints about torture and other forms of abuse by officials should be investigated by independent bodies. Provision should be made for medical examination of detained persons, particularly persons held in pre-trial detention, in order to ensure that no physical abuse of detainees occurs. The State party should institute an independent system of monitoring and checking all places of detention and penal institutions on a regular basis, with the purpose of preventing torture and other abuses of power by law enforcement officials. Free access to lawyers, doctors and family members should be guaranteed immediately after the arrest and during all stages of detention. 8. The Committee appreciates that the recently established Constitutional Court delivered a judgement holding that statements made under duress would not be admissible in evidence. The Committee also takes note that it was assured by the State party’s delegation that any allegation of torture by a defendant will lead to an immediate discontinuation of the case and a separate examination of the truthfulness of the allegation. However, the Committee remains concerned at allegations of the continued use of torture and other forms of inhuman treatment by law enforcement officials, particularly for the purpose of extorting confessions, in violation of article 7 and article 14, paragraph 3 (g), of the Covenant. It is also concerned about allegations that judges refuse to take into account any evidence provided by the accused with regard to his/her treatment by law enforcement officials.