8 his family of his arrest. He was imprisoned, and threatened in order to make him confess to his involvement. He was beaten throughout the afternoon; a bag was placed over his head and injected with tear gas; they threatened to place him in an electrified metal structure and a tank filled with water and accused him of trafficking in drugs; they threatened to summon his wife and put pressure on her to talk. Within 24 hours of his detention he gave a statement to the Third Prosecuting Attorney, who did not inform him that he had the right to a public legal counsel. His cell, measuring some 15 square meters, in which there were 17 people, was situated in a basement about two and a half meters below the level of the courtyard; it was damp and had no windows, ventilation or bed. He slept on a newspaper for 30 days. He caught pneumonia and was given a pain-killer and, at the end of his period of isolation, he was administered penicillin provided by his family. On July 23, 1992, a group of policemen from the Intervention and Rescue Squad beat him all the way to the courtyard with other detainees, made him place his hands on the nape of his neck and go down on all fours, forced him to confess that he was a drug trafficker and beat him; he was threatened and, after being blindfolded, he was forced to run around the courtyard. They told him they were going to kill him. During the period in which he was held incommunicado he lost 30 to 40 pounds because he was afraid to eat the food; he became allergic to certain substances and foods. On July 28, 1992, he was allowed to see his family. He was held in preventive detention for four years in a cell approximately four meters by two; he was allowed into the courtyard for four hours each day. Interviews with his attorney were always conducted in the presence of a policeman. He never appeared before a court. Since his release he has been in constant fear, and becomes agitated by the mere sight of police officers. e. Report of expert witness Ernesto Albán-Gómez, former Dean and Professor of Criminal Law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica of Ecuador An arrest in Ecuador requires a warrant, with the sole exception of detention for investigative purposes and detention in flagrante delicto. Unlawful detention is an offense established as such in the Criminal Code. Ecuadorian law allows a 24-hour maximum period for holding a person incommunicado. The maximum period for a detained person to make a statement to a magistrate is 24 hours, which may be extended by a further twenty-four hours only at the request of the detainee or because the magistrate deems it necessary. There is a special law that limits the period of preventive detention to a ratio of the maximum penalty to which the detainee could be sentenced but, in discriminatory manner, this law is not applicable to persons accused of trafficking in drugs or narcotics. The Law on Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances establishes the presumption of guilt instead of the presumption of innocence. A police barracks is not the appropriate place to keep someone in lawful preventive detention, since the law provides that it is in the social rehabilitation centers established in the Code of Penalties that prisoners in preventive detention or serving final sentences are to be housed. The writ of habeas corpus must be filed in writing; the decision must be taken within 48 hours and, while the law does not set art the precise deadline within whic the court must call and hear the person filing the writ, that period could also be 48 hours. In no circumstances does the law permit preventive detention of an accessory, and the maximum sentence for that crime is two years in prison. The judge has the obligation to appoint defense counsel at the preliminary stage of a criminal case; while public defenders do exist, detainees cannot be said to have effective access to them. Under Ecuadorian law, the criminal proceeding must be completed within approximately 180 days. There is systematic delay in the administration of justice, one of the grave problems of the Ecuadorian judicial administrative system, and