A/HRC/7/67 page 8 documented cases of children below the age of criminal responsibility (16) being detained in cells with adults. It has also monitored cases where complaints of rape, including cases involving children, are not investigated or prosecuted. 19. The situation in the judiciary system has not changed much since the previous report of the independent expert of February 2007. Throughout Liberia, 16 circuit courts were officially opened in February 2006. However, at least six circuit courts were not fully functional owing to the absence of key judicial personnel and lack of facilities. In some cases, the absence of judicial personnel appeared to be a result of poor communication between Monrovia and the counties, or of administrative difficulties. In May, in Sinoe and Grand Cape Mount Counties, trials could not be held owing to the absence of defence lawyers. In September, the circuit court in Grand Gedeh County started hearing its first trial for the August term. 20. The state of physical facilities of all courts in the country is poor. No court has or uses a computer, photocopier, camera, video equipment or mimeographing machine. Apart from the court in Montserrado, no other court in the country has electricity and communication resources. The key resources shared among all courts appear to be a manual typewriter, some stationery and supplies. This critical lack of basic resources has led to a situation in which no report has been sent to the Chief Justice on rape cases prosecuted by the courts. 21. Owing to the weakness or complete absence of the statutory legal system in poor and/or rural communities, Liberians have come to rely on customary justice. Widespread illiteracy, including legal illiteracy, in these communities has further deepened their reliance on customary law. 22. Discrimination and inequality in customary law are widespread. Decisions of town, clan and paramount chiefs working under the Ministry of Internal Affairs are often made by prejudice and result in excessive sanctions. These sanctions are not generally subject to independent review by the statutory courts. Illegal detention and forced labour practices result partly from the chiefs’ ignorance of their proper judicial role. However, some chiefs abuse the dysfunctional statutory system to exploit people who lack an adequate awareness of their legal rights. In May, a five-year-old was allegedly killed in Bong Mines, Bong County, as retribution after his grandmother was denounced as a witch by a “medicine man”. In July, a 65-year-old woman and her 70-year-old husband were beaten by a mob that accused the woman of using witchcraft, thereby allegedly causing the death of a 12-year-old child in River Cess County. 23. Notwithstanding the human rights violations caused by some aspects of the customary traditional system, it is very difficult to abolish formal recognition when Liberians have no access to the statutory courts for many reasons, including geographic and financial ones. C. Ending impunity 24. Some progress has been made in restructuring and strengthening the capacity of the Liberian National Police. As at September 2007, there were 203 female police officers in a force totalling 3,461. The Liberian National Police deployed 1,200 police officers in rural areas.