A/HRC/29/43 Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers so as to ensure that judges and lawyers are independent of any political or other external pressure. 16 C. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 43. The Special Rapporteur notes that Belarus has yet to make declarations under articles 21 and 22 of the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to accede to the Optional Protocol thereto. Taking note of the recent amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, he calls upon Belarus to implement the recommendations made by the Committee against Torture 17 and to integrate fully a definition of torture in accordance with the Convention into all relevant legislation. 44. An effective mechanism for the investigation of complaints of torture by prisoners or detainees is still lacking in Belarus. Officials accused of engaging in torture or illtreatment are not suspended while investigations are conducted. Furthermore, there are reports that complaints cannot be submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office from places of detention and that complainants are punished by solitary confinement or other measures of physical and psychological maltreatment. With regard to prosecuting alleged acts of torture, to date there has been no successful prosecution in the domestic courts of individuals accused of torture or order to compensate victims for the harm caused. 18 45. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to develop an independent and effective mechanism to facilitate the submission of complaints by victims of torture and illtreatment to public authorities in accordance with the recommendations made by the Committee against Torture.19 46. The human right defender Ales Bialiatski was released by the authorities in June 2014. The Special Rapporteur notes with concern that, while in custody, Mr. Bialiatski was subjected to psychological and physical pressure while deprived of liberty and to repeated arbitrary forms of disciplinary punishment for allegedly violating the rules of the penal colony. Punishment included limited access to relatives, lawyers, correspondence and communications, and practices that could be viewed as amounting to ill-treatment or even torture. 47. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that as Belarus moves towards the next presidential election in 2015, it is worrying that none of the previously alleged cases of torture of political candidates, activists and human rights defenders while in detention has been clarified by the authorities. These cases include allegations of torture and ill-treatment of the 2010 presidential candidates Andrei Sannikau, after his arrest on 19 December 2010, 16 17 18 19 See also CCPR/C/79/Add.86, para. 14; Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 4 (A/56/44), paras. 45 (g) and 46 (d); CAT/C/BLR/CO/4, para 12; E/CN.4/2001/65/Add.1, paras. 116 and 123 (b); E/CN.4/2005/6/Add.3, paras 45 and 82 (a); E/CN.4/2005/35, paras. 33 and 93; A/HRC/20/8, para. 75 (i); A/HRC/23/52, para. 67; and A/68/276, para. 118 (g). See Coalition report (see footnote 4), pp. 5-7, and CAT/C/BLR/CO/4. Coalition report (see footnote 4), p. 6. See Follow-up to the concluding observations (CAT/C/BLR/CO/4) of the Committee against Torture adopted at the 47th Session for the Republic of Belarus; report prepared by the Belarusian public initiative “Human Rights Activists Against Torture” in partnership with the Belarusian Human Rights House and the Human Rights House Foundation, March 2014. 9