A/HRC/7/56 page 5 B. Fundamental rights and freedoms and civil society 7. The Office has paid particular attention to cases where NGOs and activists have come under attack in connection with their lawful activities in the promotion and defence of human rights, as well as cases which are emblematic of wider patterns that have a serious impact on the exercise of the most essential human rights. In this regard, it has brought its concerns to the attention of national and provincial authorities with regard to restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, association and assembly; illegal arrests, disappearances and other serious breaches of procedural guarantees; land disputes and illegal acquisition of land; forced and violent evictions; excessive use of force; and prison conditions. 8. In a year in which Cambodia reaffirmed, through ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, its commitment to eliminating torture and other ill-treatment, the Office documented a number of instances in which State officials were involved in ill-treatment or torture. In one case, a man was tortured while in the custody of gendarmes in Tum Ring Commune, Kampong Thom Province. He died on 1 January 2007, a day after his release, as a consequence of the injuries he had sustained. A subsequent police investigation and post-mortem confirmed that the man died as a consequence of torture, and the police filed charges with the Provincial Court. Officials from the gendarmerie allegedly paid the wife of the deceased money in an attempt to settle the case out of court. The Office also investigated the illegal arrest and torture of a soldier by a military unit involved in running a plantation in Pailin, and his subsequent disappearance. Military and police officials who investigated the case concluded that the man had been killed but were unable to locate the body. Compensation was paid to the family but no criminal charges or disciplinary action appear to have been initiated against the perpetrators. In another case, the Office investigated the alleged beating of three detainees as punishment for their attempted escape from the prison in Kandal Province on 22-23 July 2007. No disciplinary action seems to have been taken against the prison officers involved. In mid-December, the prison authorities allowed OHCHR staff to meet and interview privately the three detainees and report their findings with recommendations for both preventive and corrective action to the staff. The Office intervened with the authorities on a number of other cases related to prison conditions, including the use of shackles and restriction of family visiting rights of certain prisoners involved in politically sensitive cases. The prison authorities responded to most of these interventions, and cooperation has been encouraging. 9. At the end of 2007, the Office began consultations with the Prisons Department and the Ministry of Interior to explore avenues for cooperation in the field of prison reform. Four areas for possible support by the Office were jointly identified, including support (legal advice) to the drafting by the Ministry of the law organizing the penitentiary system; professional training of penitentiary personnel; assessment of prison conditions and treatment of detainees; and material support to equip prisons with potable water supplies and adequate sanitation facilities. An agreement in principle was also reached with the Minister of Interior to strengthen cooperation with the Office in the fields of drafting legislation, land issues and civil society. 10. In October 2007, the Office wrote to the Ministry of Interior requesting an explanation of the circumstances of the death in custody of Oum Chhay, a prominent businessman from Banteay Meanchey, who was arrested on suspicion of involvement in illicit drug production and trafficking. No independent investigation was conducted into the case. In their response, the