A/HRC/38/51 69. The fact that, in Belarus, victims have no recognized right to ask for an examination by an independent doctor or expert is caused by the reluctance of the State to acknowledge that torture and ill-treatment may occur. The absence of a national preventive mechanism or any other effective mechanism to monitor the conditions in places of deprivation of liberty (pretrial and detention centres) and the lack of effective legal remedies for victims of acts of ill-treatment or torture highlight the lack of will to seriously tackle what is a systemic issue. The authorities pointed to the existence of a so-called monitoring mechanism: however, that mechanism does not respect the basic principles set out by the Committee against Torture (see CAT/OP/12/5), as it is under the full control of the Ministry of Justice, which decides on its composition, and has a narrow mandate. Independent NGOs encounter regular refusals when they apply for membership of the mechanism. The Special Rapporteur also underlines that the recent decisions to revoke the licences of certain lawyers further affect the already meagre channels of recourse for victims to complain about acts of ill-treatment and torture by officials. F. Arbitrary arrest and detention, political prisoners and enforced disappearances 70. At least 110 individuals were arbitrarily arrested and detained for various periods of time prior to and during the rallies organized by civil society organizations to commemorate the one-hundredth anniversary of the independence of Belarus on 25 March 2018. The authorities adopted their usual approach to persons wishing to peacefully demonstrate: they intervened upstream by arresting organizers, influencers and participants during and after the gatherings. Given the scale of the 2018 Freedom Day marches, the ratio of arbitrary arrests and detentions equalled those of February and March 2017, during which more than a thousand individuals were arrested, several of whom were jailed. 71. At least five journalists covering the rally in Yakub Kolas Square, Minsk, and six members of Viasna Human Rights Centre, were arbitrarily arrested and detained. The rally had been called for by a famous member of the political opposition and former candidate for the presidency, Mikhalay Statkevich, who was arrested at his home on the eve of the event and detained for 10 days. 72. Mr. Statkevich has regularly been the target of State harassment of political opponents. The release of a number of political prisoners in the course of the past two years, although without full rehabilitation, was compensated by the frequent arrest or rearrest of others for short periods of time. A typical example is Belarusian Radio and Electronics Workers’ Union accountant and local leader, Ihar Komlik, who was detained during the period 5 August–2 October 2017 on the basis of trumped-up charges. Although currently at liberty, Mr. Komlik and fellow trade unionist Mr. Fiadynich continue to face charges, the deadline for the corresponding investigation having been extended to 1 May 2018. On April 27, Mr. Fiadynich was summoned to appear before the Investigative Committee, and was informed that the size of the team investigating the “Trade union case” had been increased from two to eight officials. From a technical point of view, the investigation was supposed to end on May 1, but given the changes to the roster of the investigative team, it is likely that the deadline for the case will be extended once again. 24 73. At the time of completion of the present report, there were still two political prisoners in Belarus, Dzimitry Paliyenka and Mikhail Zhamchuzhny. Amnesty International declared Mr. Paliyenka, who suffers from asthma and is currently being denied appropriate treatment, to be a prisoner of conscience on 22 August 2017. 25 The Special Rapporteur shares the concerns expressed by Belarusian human rights defenders regarding the deteriorating situation of Mr. Zhamchuzhny, whose health and physical integrity are affected by harassment by prison and judicial officials, and by inappropriate decisions, such as punishing him for not dusting the table in his prison cell. Between August 2017 and the 24 25 12 See http://praca-by.info/all-news/item/5536-delo-profsoyuzov-sledstvennaya-gruppa-uvelichena-s-2do-8-chelove (in Russian). See https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur49/6984/2017/en/.