A/HRC/28/68/Add.4 established. Rather than charging the police officers with a lesser offence, such as manslaughter, the Court reversed the previous conviction and ordered their release. The death in custody of a person who was obviously mistreated and this outrageous judicial decision only reinforce the culture of impunity. 61. The Special Rapporteur has not been apprised of a single case in which the paramount obligation of the State to investigate, prosecute and punish every act of torture – a rule of international human rights law that has acquired the status of customary international law – has been fulfilled. 62. Moreover, the Indemnity Act of 2001 provides the President with nearly unfettered powers, perpetuates a culture of impunity and deters victims from seeking redress for human rights violations, including torture.15 63. The lack of procedural safeguards and the failure to investigate were further highlighted after the attempted coup d’état. In January 2015, the Special Rapporteur received information about more than 50 cases of forced disappearance,16 including that of one minor. All the evidence shows that the purpose of unacknowledged detention is to facilitate torture or summary execution, or both. The Special Rapporteur surmises that torture was used in several recent cases reported to him. Burden of proof, independent medical examinations and forensics 64. The Special Rapporteur notes the absence of routine medical examinations by qualified forensic medical doctors at the police investigation stage, by court order or upon admission to prison. 65. The Special Rapporteur received no information about the presence of forensic doctors in the police force, the Prosecutor’s Office or the Ministry of Justice. A representative of the Ministry of Health stated that it had a pathologist and a laboratory, but the Special Rapporteur found that no specific training was provided on the Istanbul Protocol to assist in the determination of cause of death or the occurrence of torture. The lack of forensic medical knowledge or of any medical doctor trained in the Istanbul Protocol undermines the fulfilment of State obligations regarding torture. 66. In practice, the safeguards against torture do not operate effectively because officials claim there is no evidence of torture. Confessions and declarations obtained through torture therefore remain on the record and no serious effort is made to investigate, prosecute or punish perpetrators. 67. The Special Rapporteur received submissions regarding several deaths in custody. They appear mainly to relate to illness, but there are also alleged cases of excessive use of force by prison officials and denial of medical care.17 The Government did not provide statistics but advised him that all deaths in custody were from natural causes. Monitoring and inspection of places of detention 68. Prior to commencing the visit, the Special Rapporteur received reports from several sources that detainees were being moved between various official and unofficial prisons. 15 16 17 12 See “The Gambia 2012 human rights report”, United States Department of State, 2012, p. 4. Available from www.state.gov/documents/organization/204335.pdf. The West Africa Regional Office of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has formally submitted several cases to the relevant special procedures mandate holders. Amnesty International letter to the Special Rapporteur, dated 4 August 2014.