A/HRC/37/50/Add.1 89. The Special Rapporteur is concerned, however, that the numerous national bodies that are formally mandated to monitor detention locations do not appear to function properly in practice, and thereby fail to assume their crucial role in contributing to the prevention of torture and ill-treatment throughout Turkey. 90. For example, the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey, established in April 2016 to replace the National Human Rights Institution of Turkey, 39 has been taking up its duties with considerable delay. Apart from monitoring equality and human rights in general, the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey is the designated organization for the national preventive mechanism 40 as detailed in the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. However, at the time of the visit, no commissioners had been appointed to the institution, which, despite having several working-level staff, remained unable to assume its decisive preventive role of carrying out regular, independent and objective inspections of all places of detention in Turkey. 91. Other monitoring mechanisms were experiencing a change of personnel at the time of the Special Rapporteur’s visit, with the former Ombudsman having been relieved of his duties. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the appointment of a new Ombudsman by Parliament in November 2016. The prison monitoring boards, which had been criticized for their lack of impartiality, had been dismantled by decree after the July 2016 coup, and at the time of the visit had not yet been reconstituted. Moreover, civil society organizations reportedly were not allowed to monitor detention centres and other places of deprivation of liberty. 8. Forensic medical examinations and documentation of torture 92. Professional forensic examinations and documentation about allegations of torture and ill-treatment as well as about deaths in custody are a crucial component in any effective investigation and in the prosecution of such allegations. The Istanbul Protocol (the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment) and the Minnesota Protocol (the Model Protocol for a Legal Investigation of Extralegal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions) provide fundamental tools for guiding such documentation and investigations. 93. The Special Rapporteur and his accompanying forensic expert observed that general medical examinations appeared to be routinely performed upon arrest and after arrival at detention centres. Examinations were reportedly conducted by medical personnel without any specific training in documenting signs of physical and psychological abuse, and did not involve any psychological assessments, thus entailing an increased risk of deficient descriptions, documentation, and interpretations of traumatic injuries. 94. The forensic medical examination by specialists of inmates who show signs of physical or psychological trauma, with photographs, in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol, does not appear to be a routine procedure. Occasionally, such examinations have allegedly been delayed until the visible signs of the trauma have disappeared. 95. In cases of death in custody, autopsies were reportedly systematically performed, but it was not possible to assess whether or not they were carried out in accordance with international minimum standards, and in particular, the Minnesota Protocol. Numerous interlocutors mentioned that, according to official records, a number of detainees suspected of being affiliated with the Gülenist movement had committed suicide in custody, although there was no confirmation of this cause of death by independent autopsies. 96. Since the failed coup of July 2016, several forensic experts have been arrested and detained, including the director of the Council of Forensic Medicine, and pursuant to Decree Law No. 679 of 6 January 2017, numerous forensic specialists and other Ministry of Justice personnel have been dismissed or suspended from their positions. According to allegations received by the Special Rapporteur and his forensic expert, official forensic 39 40 16 Established in Law No. 6332 of 21 June 2012. By Cabinet decree dated 9 December 2013.