A/HRC/45/16/Add.2 29. In addition, while the Public Prosecution has been referred to as a judicial body, the Working Group considers that it is not an independent court, nor a judicial body authorized to exercise judicial power within the meaning of article 9 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 3 The Public Prosecution is both the investigating body and the detaining authority, which is a conflict of interest and represents a risk for violation of due process guarantees. Arrest procedures and the right to legal assistance 30. The Working Group was informed that, unless an offence is committed in flagrante delicto, the Public Prosecution is obliged to issue an arrest warrant, providing a legal basis for the detention of an individual. According to article 113 of the Criminal Procedure Code, any arrested person shall be informed immediately of the reasons for the arrest and shall be entitled to communicate with any person and to seek legal assistance. 31. However, it appears that in practice, a person is only able to communicate with his or her lawyer by requesting to do so, which may present significant barriers to due process for people who are not aware of this right. The Working Group also received numerous accounts suggesting that legal assistance was usually not meaningful, as the detained individuals were not able to communicate with their lawyers freely and for sufficient periods of time, or faced language barriers in such communication. In addition, the Working Group found that individuals charged with certain misdemeanours or non-violent crimes, such as drug-related offences, adultery and sexual relationships out of marriage, had been denied the right to legal assistance. 32. Furthermore, the information received indicates that the right to legal assistance does not apply during the initial 24-hour period of police custody, and that a person will only have the right to his or her own lawyer or to a government-appointed lawyer following referral to the Public Prosecution. This runs counter to the right of everyone deprived of their liberty to legal assistance, at any time during their detention, including immediately after apprehension.4 Moreover, no statement should be given by the detainee, or be recorded by any authority, without prior access to legal assistance. Detainee registers in police stations 33. While the majority of stakeholders were aware of the requirement that an arrested person must be transferred to the Public Prosecution within 24 hours, it is not clear whether all police authorities are complying with it. Although all places of detention in Qatar share a unified, computerized register system, which is commendable, it does not allow supervisors and officers to readily ascertain the number, status and types of detainees being held in any given institution. It is only upon entering identifying information, such as the case or ID number of the person concerned, that it is possible to locate information concerning a particular individual. During its visits to detention facilities, the Working Group noted with concern a general lack of knowledge by the officers of the current number of detainees held, and it was presented with details of detainees which included individuals who had already been released or transferred. 34. Moreover, at some police stations, the date and time at which individuals were taken into custody and transferred to the Public Prosecution is not clearly stated in the register of detainees. This makes it practically impossible to ascertain whether the requirements of article 107 of the Criminal Procedure Code are respected. Detention registers are crucial tools in preventing arbitrary deprivation of liberty, as the obligation to maintain these registers minimizes the risk of the authorities not complying with the legal safeguards. The Working Group invites the Qatari authorities to address, as a matter of priority, the shortcomings of the current detention register system. 3 4 See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 35 (2014) on liberty and security of person, para. 32. United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on Remedies and Procedures on the Right of Anyone Deprived of Their Liberty to Bring Proceedings Before a Court, principle 9. 7