13 The Law No. 16 of 2011 on Legal Aid also guarantees the right of legal aid beneficiaries to obtain
access to justice and to realize the constitutional rights of the citizens according to the principle of the equality before the law.
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Due to the enactment of the Legal Aid Law, underprivileged citizens that cannot fulfill their basic rights, may receive legal aid for private, criminal, and state
administrative cases, both litigation and non-litigation.
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F. The right to be free from torture and degrading treatment
A person that is undergoing pretrial detention, due to the charge of committing a crime, often being the subject of torture, to make hisher confess about the crime and to give information regarding
the crime. Therefore, the prohibition on torture is an important principle under the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
If there is any indication that a detainee is suffering from torture, the possible impacts are:
i The statements obtained from torture will not be used as evidences that will criminate a
person; ii
The report on alleged torture must be investigated immediately and the perpetrator must be indicted;
iii Practical efforts, by not including the evidences obtained from torture, are needed to
assure the right to be free from torture. UDHR states no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
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Similar provision is also provided under ICCPR, which states that no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
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Further, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Convention Against Torture states that:
1. Each country shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to
prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. 2.
No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification
of torture. 3.
An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.
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4. Each country shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The
same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture.
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5. Each country shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into
account their grave nature..
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6. Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as
a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made.
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Article 3 b and c, Law No. 16 of 2011 on Legal Aid.
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Articles 4 and 5, Legal Aid Law.
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Article 5, UDHR.
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Article 7, ICCPR.
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Article 2, Convention Against Torture.
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Article 4 1, Convention Against Torture.
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Article 4 2, Convention Against Torture.
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Article `5, Convention Against Torture.
14 The Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or
Imprisonment states that tt shall be prohibited to take undue advantage of the situation of a detained or imprisoned person for the purpose of compelling him to confess, to incriminate himself
otherwise or to testify against any other person.
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No detained person while being interrogated shall be subject to violence, threats or methods of interrogation which impair his capacity of decision or his judgement.
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The duration of any interrogation of a detained or imprisoned person and of the intervals between interrogations as well as the identity of the officials who conducted the interrogations and other
persons present shall be recorded and certified in such form as may be prescribed by law.
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A detained or imprisoned person, or his counsel when provided by law, shall have access to the
information on the interrogation.
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Meanwhile, the UN Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors states that when prosecutors come into possession of evidence against suspects that they know or believe on reasonable grounds was
obtained through recourse to unlawful methods, they shall refuse to use such evidence against anyone other than those who used such methods.
“u h p o isio e ists e ause u la ful ethods a e a g oss iolatio agai st suspe t s ights, especially that involved torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Prosecutors must inform such unlawful methods to the court and the Government, and take all necessary steps to ensure that those responsible for using such methods are brought to justice.
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The United Nations Human Rights Committee further states that complaints about ill-treatment must be investigated effectively by competent authorities. Those found guilty must be held
responsible, and the alleged victims must themselves have effective remedies at their disposal, including the right to obtain compensation.
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In the view of the Committee the prohibition must extend to corporal punishment, including excessive chastisement as an educational or disciplinary measure. Even such a measure as solitary
confinement may, according to the circumstances, and especially when the person is kept incommunicado, be contrary to Article 7 of ICCPR.
Moreover, Article 7 of ICCPR clearly protects not only persons arrested or imprisoned, but also pupils and patients in educational and medical institutions. Tt is also the duty of public authorities to
ensure protection by the law against such treatment.
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G. Detention at the State Detention House
