The UN`s top official probing torture believes that the practice is `systematic` in Equatorial Guinea, following a 10-day trip to the west African nation.

Austrian diplomat Manfred Nowak completed an inspection visit on Tuesday, slamming President Teodoro Obiang Nguema`s near 30-year regime in a document entitled `preliminary findings` obtained by AFP in Malabo.

`I can state that torture is practised in a systematic manner... against people who refuse to `cooperate` (with the police), political detainees and against those suspected of everyday crimes,` Nowak writes.

A final report will be submitted to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva upon Nowak`s return to Switzerland, with a copy going to the government in Malabo which `invited` the UN special rapporteur to visit.

Nowak notes that during his November 9-18 stay, he was not given access to `a single military detention centre.`

He said much of the torture seemed to occur in police stations or the prisons of Malabo and the country`s second city of Bata.

The goal among torturers is to obtain `confessions or information, (but) sometimes also to intimidate, punish or extort money.`

Citing witnesses and documents discovered, Nowak highlights detainees beaten on the soles of their feet or on the buttocks as well as electrical shocks administered via car wires.

He also wrote of `dirty, humid cells` without sanitation or mattresses, `bottles or plastic bags` for toilet needs, limited access to water for drinking or washing, with visits forbidden and recourse to medical assistance `extremely limited.`

Nowak blamed a culture of `almost total non-punishment,` saying not one conviction for torture could be found in court records -- and that, on the contrary, officers known for resorting to the technique were able to carve out careers in the police or security services.

He said `profound reform` of the country`s law and institutions was required.

Obiang has been in power since a 1979 coup which ousted his uncle, with campaigners frequently accusing the country of violating human rights. The next presidential elections are slated for 2009.

Equatorial Guinea currently ranks as sub-Saharan Africa`s third crude oil producer and has had double digit economic growth for several years, although the population enjoys little of the wealth generated.