A/HRC/20/12 due in part to the lack of trust on the part of human rights NGOs in the prosecutorial authorities and the overall lack of strategic engagement by all parties, posing challenges to the effective functioning of the public councils. 47. Closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed in the temporary police detention centres (IVS) in Jalal-Abad, and are also planned for the IVS in Osh. The Prosecutor’s Office believes this will assist in preventing cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees. ROCA has advised the General Prosecutor that while CCTV can be an additional measure to prevent torture, it is not a panacea for the human rights violations observed in detention centres, given the potential ease with which the system can be bypassed or disabled. Worse, it risks lending a measure of protection to law enforcement officials if the CCTV system proves susceptible to tampering. 48. In November 2011, ROCA supported a training seminar for lawyers and representatives of the Ombudsman Institution on strategic litigation in torture cases. ROCA, with the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, is also working with the General Prosecutor’s Office on the design of a human rights training module, with a corresponding manual to reinforce the training curriculum for prosecutors. 49. ROCA/OMO supported the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in his visit to Kyrgyzstan from 3-5 December 2011. The Special Rapporteur concluded that there is a “serious lack of sufficiently speedy, meaningful, thorough and impartial investigations” into allegations of torture and ill-treatment, as well as a lack of effective prosecution of law enforcement officials, and that the use of torture is exacerbated by the reliance placed on confessions in the judicial system. 50. ROCA/OMO continue to ensure that individuals at risk are provided with independent legal representation free of charge through a consolidated referral system with local partners. Trials 51. In general, trials related to the June 2010 violence do not uphold basic fair trial standards and judges have failed to respond to allegations that defendants confess to crimes under duress, with such evidence being admitted in the judicial proceedings. 52. Physical violence, intimidation and harassment targeting ethnic Uzbek defendants and their lawyers continue to occur in trials related to the June 2010 violence, despite measures taken by the authorities to increase security for such trials. Judges continue to fail to use their powers to take disciplinary measures against individuals responsible for violent assaults and intimidation inside court rooms, merely issuing verbal warnings. ROCA/OMO observed only one case where legal action was taken, against an individual alleged to have attacked lawyers in the court room. 53. In 2011, the Supreme Court reviewed appeals related to the June 2010 violence, but failed to provide a full assessment of fair trial violations, to address admissibility of confessions as evidence or to reverse verdicts of lower courts where serious claims of fair trial violations were raised. 54. For instance, on 20 December 2011, the Supreme Court upheld the life sentence handed down to human rights defender Mr. Azimjan Askarov (the case of Askarov et al) on charges of organizing mass disorder and inciting inter-ethnic hatred in connection with the June 2010 violence. However, his trials at lower courts had not met basic standards of fair trial, with, inter alia, evidence of torture having been used by law enforcement bodies to extract a confession. 10