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Distr.
GENERAL E/CN.4/1998/38/Add.1
24 December 1997
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-fourth session
Item 8 (a) of the provisional agenda
QUESTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF ALL PERSONS SUBJECTED TO
ANY FORM OF DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT, IN PARTICULAR:
TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR
DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT
Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Nigel S. Rodley, submitted
pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1997/38
Addendum
Summary of cases transmitted to Governments and replies received
CONTENTS
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bhutan
Bolivia
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burundi
Cameroon
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Cuba
Cyprus
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Ecuador
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Israel
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaysia
Maldives
Mauritania
[more]
Afghanistan
On 25 April 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal in conjunction with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan concerning the administration of amputation as a form of punishment by the Taliban authorities. According to reports received at the time, sentences of amputation may be decreed following summary trials by Islamic Courts or may be carried out on the orders of Taliban commanders or other officials. Amputation was said to be performed by doctors or, in some cases, by Taliban guards. One man reportedly underwent amputation of his hand and foot on 21 April 1997 and at least two other persons were reported to be awaiting amputation. Expressing the view that corporal punishment, particularly those forms which cause pain and/or mutilation or permanent disfigurement, is inconsistent with the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the Special Rapporteurs appealed to the Taliban authorities to ensure that no further acts of amputation are carried out.
On 2 June 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal in conjunction with the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on behalf of Ismail Khan, an opposition general and former governor of Herat province. He was reportedly arrested by other opposition forces on or around 19 May 1997 and handed over to the Taliban authorities in the city of Kandahar.[back to the contents]
Albania
On 11 February 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf of a large number of demonstrators who had allegedly been arrested in connection with protests said to have taken place since January in several towns of the country. According to the information received, some of these detainees, particularly at Vlora, Berat and Korça, were severely beaten in police stations. In its letter of 12 March 1997, the Government replied that, since no complaint had been lodged with the Government Procurator's Office or the courts against the armed forces, it was impossible to confirm the allegations.[back to the contents]
Algeria
By letter of 17 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received reports concerning the following persons.
Rachid Mesli, a human rights lawyer, allegedly abducted in the Rouiba area near Algiers, on 31 July 1996. On 7 August, police reportedly informed his relatives that he was detained in Reghai. On 10 August, Rachid Mesli was allegedly brought before a magistrate, at which time he is said to have appeared in poor physical condition, with bruises on his right eye and hand. He was then transferred to the prison of El-Harrache, where his detention conditions are reported to have improved, though still described as harsh, and he was allowed visits from his family and lawyers. No investigation is said to have been carried out into his alleged ill-treatment.
Hassan Cherif and his brother Hakim, aged 17 and 18 respectively, reportedly arrested on 2 August 1996 and kept for 17 days in garde à vue (detention) at the commissariat of Bab Ezzouar, Algiers, on suspicion of having links with an armed opposition group. They are said to have been subjected to torture during detention, including subjection to electric shocks and the suffocation method known as "chiffon". Hassan was reportedly hit with a gun as a result of which his nose was broken. His brother Hakim is said to have sustained a broken leg. They were further allegedly threatened with rape. A request for a medical examination by their lawyer on 15 September 1996 had reportedly not been responded to by April 1997.
Brahim Abdullatif, reportedly arrested at his home on 6 January 1997, taken to the gendarmerie station where he is said to have been detained until 6 March 1997 before being transferred to the prison of El-Harrache where he allegedly still remained in September 1997. During his detention in the gendarmerie station, he was allegedly subjected to torture including electric shocks. At night, he was allegedly left hanging from a pillar or tree with his hands tied. Further, he is said to have been burned with a hot iron, leaving marks on the right side of his body. In his cell, ventilation was provided only by a small hole. He was reportedly interrogated with a camera directed at his face and his legs bound with electric wires. As a result of the torture, he is said to have become deaf and almost lost his left eye.
Urgent appeals
On 15 May 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Aziz Bouabdallah, a journalist with El-Alam El-Siyasi, who was allegedly arrested on 12 April 1997 by members of the security forces and denied any contacts with his family or lawyer. On 21 July 1997, the Government denied that Aziz Bouabdallah had ever been arrested by the security forces.[back to the contents]
Argentina
By letter of 26 May 1997 the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information to the effect that on 22 January 1996 a group of detainees in a yard at the Córdoba remand centre had attempted to escape in a refuse truck. The attempt was foiled by guards but led to disturbances in several blocks. A large number of the inmates, including those not involved in the attempted escape, were reportedly stripped and made to lie for hours face down in the yard, where they were allegedly sprayed with water and beaten and shot at with rubber bullets, incidents for which there is photographic evidence. These events reportedly left about 200 injured and 3 dead. The lawyer who reported the facts to the relevant prosecutor's office is said to have received threats. The cameraman who had taken pictures of the inmates being ill-treated was also reportedly subjected to repeated threats and harassment.[back to the contents]
Armenia
By letter dated 5 February 1997, the Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received information concerning the cases summarized below.
A number of persons detained in connection with the trial of Vahan Hovanessian, a senior member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party (ARF), and 30 other persons accused of participation in attempting to stage an armed coup, were allegedly ill-treated or tortured following their arrest. Manvel Yeghiazarian was reportedly arrested on 29 July 1995 and assaulted along with his wife and children. He was taken to a prison hospital with concussion, bruising and fractured ribs. Ashot Avetsian was allegedly beaten with metal rods and subjected to electric shocks. Six of his relatives were also reportedly detained to pressure him into making a confession.
Amayak Oganesyan, who was drafted into the army on 1 May 1995, was allegedly ill-treated by his sergeant who verbally abused him, inflicted a knife wound near his ribs and hit him around the head with a spade. He was reportedly denied medical care and threatened that he would be "blown up on a mine" if he complained. He was further allegedly beaten by fellow soldiers at the instigation of the sergeant, as a result of which he lost consciousness. Eventually transferred to a hospital, he was allegedly beaten by a medical attendant when he was too weak to perform cleaning tasks. He was said to have been subjected to further beatings with sticks and an iron when he refused to give another soldier his clothes. Following the diagnosis of lymphosarcoma, he was eventually discharged from the army. An official complaint concerning his ill-treatment to the military authorities on 18 August 1995 was reportedly not responded to.
The Special Rapporteur transmitted the following cases in connection with allegations of ill-treatment by the police during demonstrations following the national elections of 22 September 1996:
(a) Ruben Akopian, a member of parliament from the suspended ARF, was reportedly detained on 25 September 1996 at the National Assembly building and allegedly kicked and beaten unconscious with gun butts;
(b) A number of persons were reportedly severely beaten with rifle butts and kicked with boots, when uniformed troops were said to have entered the premises of the opposition National Self-Determination Union (NSDU). Among them were reportedly NSDU President Garine Stepanian and staff members Ina Konstanian, Sophia Neshanian and Anahid Garabedian. Aramzd Zakanian, a member of parliament, was also allegedly beaten with fists and batons. According to the information received, he was subsequently detained and again subjected to beatings in police custody. He was said to have been transferred to hospital with a fractured skull, a broken rib and facial lacerations;
(c) Gagik Mkrtchyan, a reporter from the opposition Russian-language newspaper Golos Armenii (Voice of Armenia) and a member of the ARP, and David Varanian, a member of the opposition National Democratic Union, were reportedly detained on 26 September 1996 and taken to the 6th Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where they were allegedly severely beaten.[back to the contents]
Austria
By letter dated 17 February 1997 the Government provided additional information on two cases, which the Special Rapporteur had transmitted on 11 June 1996 and to which the Government had first replied on 11 September 1996. It concerned the cases of Wolfgang Purtscheller, a journalist allegedly arrested on 22 September 1994 and knocked unconscious by police officers, and Emad Faltas, an Egyptian national allegedly assaulted by members of the Vienna Drugs Squad on 21 June 1995 (E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.1, paras. 5-7).
Concerning the case of Wolfgang Purtscheller the Government stated that the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office had found no grounds for further judicial prosecution of the officers accused and closed the case on 25 September 1997, since the judicial preliminary inquiries had produced no evidence of criminal behaviour.
With respect to the case of Emad Faltas the Government stated that the Vienna Court of Appeal, by judgement of 12 November 1996, had dismissed the appeal lodged by the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office. The judgement of acquittal of the three detective officers by the Vienna Regional Criminal Court on 24 April 1996 was therefore said to be final.
The reply was transmitted to the source, who commented by letter dated 27 October 1997 that the Government had failed to provide further information on the nature of the judicial preliminary inquiries in the case of Wolfgang Purtscheller, nor had it indicated whether the inquiries had been conducted promptly and impartially, or explained how the conclusion had been arrived at. Concerning the case of Emad Faltas, the source commented that the Government's response had not mentioned whether a prompt and impartial investigation had taken place.[back to the contents]
Azerbaijan
By letter dated 20 June 1997 the Special Rapporteur communicated the individual cases summarized in the paragraphs below.
Taptig Farhadoglu, a journalist with the news agency Turan, was reportedly beaten severely near Azadlig Square in Baku on 17 November 1996 by a group of men in civilian clothes, shortly after he had interviewed opposition politician Neimat Panahov. When he reported the incident to Saba district police department, he allegedly found one of the attackers there; he turned out to be the head of the district's 39th police department.
Murshud Mahmudov and Abulfat Kerimov were reportedly among 37 defendants in the case against the special police unit OPON, who were being tried on charges in connection with a coup d'état attempt in March 1995. They and some 22 other defendants had allegedly been subjected to physical or mental ill-treatment during their detention in the first half of 1996. Murshud Mahmudov allegedly had electric shocks applied to his ears and Abulfat Kerimov was said to have been hung upside down and beaten.[back to the contents]
Bahrain
In a letter of 17 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted allegations that Yasser Abdul Hussein Ali Al-Sayakh was reportedly arrested at his home in the Jidali district of Manama by security forces on 5 December 1996. During interrogation at the 'Adlya Criminal Investigation Department by two named officers about his alleged involvement in political activities, he was allegedly suspended by the hands, punched in the stomach and subjected to falaqa (beatings on the soles of the feet) while being hung by the knees over a stick with his hands tied. He was further said to have been threatened with electric shocks and the pulling out of his fingernails. It was also reported that during a visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross, he was kept in a toilet with four other detainees until the delegation had left. As a result of the torture, he was reportedly suffering from pain in his back and legs as well as psychological problems.
Urgent appeals
On 27 March 1997, the Special Rapporteur made an urgent appeal on behalf of Sayyid Jalal Sayyid'Alawi Sharaf, who was reportedly arrested at his home in al-Duraz on 6 March 1997 and taken to the al-Qal'a compound in Manama. The reports indicated that he was being held incommunicado and had been beaten during interrogations. In a reply dated 15 April 1997, the Government strongly denied that Sayyid Jalal Sayyid'Alawi Sharaf had been mistreated, and assured the Special Rapporteur that the detainee had access to proper care as well as visitation rights.
On 4 April 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Ali Hassan Yusuf, who was reportedly arrested in Jidd Hafs on 16 February 1997. He has reportedly been held incommunicado at Manama prison ever since. The Government reply of 28 April 1997 strongly denied allegations of mistreatment, and stated that Ali Hassan Yusuf had been released on bail on 16 April 1997.
The Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on 7 October 1997, on behalf of Mohammed Ahmed Shafi'i, who was allegedly arrested by intelligence officials on 3 September 1997 in Hamad town. The reports indicated that he was being held incommunicado at the al-Qal'a compound in Manama.[back to the contents]
Bhutan
On 21 August 1997 the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of five persons arrested in Pemagatshel district in July and August, allegedly for support of previously targeted political organizations: Gyamtsho (18 years old), Sangay Phuntsho, Tandin Wangchuk and Kinzang Chophel, all monks at Kheri Gompa monastery, and Sonam Tobgyel from Shumar village. In its reply of 2 September 1997, the Government denied that any person fitting Gyamtsho's description had been detained, but provided information about a 31-year-old farmer by the name of Jamtsho. It confirmed the arrest of the four other persons and gave assurances that their physical and mental integrity would be protected.
On 2 October 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal concerning Dorji Norbu, Kunga, Dorji Tshewang and Namkha Dorji, who were reportedly arrested in eastern Bhutan by the Royal Bhutan Police on 10 September 1997. They were reportedly being held in Pemagatshel police station, where they were shackled and subjected to daily public floggings with willow and other branches. Also reported to have been arrested were Chhoeten Tshering, Tachi, Sengye Phuentshok and Chhoedra from Trashigang district. In its letter of 17 October, the Government confirmed the detention of all the above persons, but denied that shackles and public floggings were being used.
On 31 October 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf of Thinley, Sangay Tenzin (son of Dorji), Druki (son of Tshering Dorji) and Ugen Wangdi (son of Urpi), who were allegedly among 26 people arrested by the Royal Bhutan Police in eastern Bhutan on 23 October 1997 in connection with a peaceful demonstration. They were allegedly chained in groups of four and forced to walk to Samdrup Jonkhar prison, where they were allegedly subjected to a form of torture in which the thighs are pressed between two rods (chepua), and threatened with further torture if they did not cease their activities.
In a letter of 26 November 1997, the Government confirmed the arrest of the four men, but denied the allegations of ill-treatment or torture, and stated that the detainees had been brought before the Samdrupjongkhar District Court on 27 October 1997. It explained that the prisoners were not chained and assured the Special Rapporteur that torture is prohibited by law and that detainees have access both to a lawyer and to their relatives.[back to the contents]
Bolivia
On 29 January 1997 the Special Rapporteur made an urgent appeal to the Government on behalf of Waldo Albarracín, President of the Permanent Human Rights Assembly, who was reportedly detained in La Paz by plain-clothes policemen. The latter are said to have taken him to an unidentified location, where they allegedly beat him for several hours and threatened him with death. Afterwards they reportedly brought him to the judicial police headquarters, from which he was ordered to be taken to hospital. On 3 March 1997, the Government replied that Mr. Albarracín had been released and that the reason for his detention was being investigated by a commission of the National Congress.[back to the contents]
Brazil
On 26 May 1997 the Special Rapporteur transmitted the following individual cases to the Government.
Carlos da Silva was detained on 25 February 1995 by the military police after having stolen a car in the Santo Amaro district of São Paulo. Despite having got out of the car with his hands up when caught, he was allegedly fired at by one of the policemen. Afterwards he was reportedly taken to a vacant lot, where he was allegedly subjected to various forms of torture, such as being beaten in the testicles and having his hands trampled on while four policemen pointed guns at his head. The case had reportedly been brought before the military courts.
José Ivanildo Sampaio de Souza was arrested on 24 October 1995 in connection with a drug-trafficking offence in Fortaleza, Ceará, by members of the Federal Police. He died the following day in custody. Doctors of the Institute of Forensic Medicine are said to have given the cause of death as internal haemorrhaging as a result of injury with a blunt object. They also reportedly found bruising of the chest, thighs and wrists and four broken ribs. Once the investigation had been completed the case is said to have been referred to the federal investigation service for it to decide on the prosecution of seven federal police officers allegedly involved. On 5 July 1996 the Federal Chamber of Deputies approved the award of a monthly pension to the victim's family.
José Wilson Pinheiro was detained on 15 August 1996 in a state of intoxication and taken to the fifth district police station in Fortaleza. While in custody he was allegedly subjected to torture, causing various injuries that included a perforation of the right eye. The police reportedly maintained that the injuries had been caused by another detainee, a fact said to have been denied by the victim.
Urgent appeals
On 20 January 1997 the Special Rapporteur, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, made an urgent appeal on behalf of the witnesses to an incident in which alleged members of a death squad were said to have died as a result of excessive use of force by the police in Cavaleiro, Pernambuco.[back to the contents]
Bulgaria
On 11 July 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government the following cases.
Martin Zagorov and his brother Nedyalko Zagorov, aged 16 and 14 respectively, were reportedly taken for questioning to Shumen police station on 5 December 1996. Martin was allegedly handcuffed to a radiator while Nedyalko was allegedly beaten twice by an officer in order to obtain a confession. Martin was ordered to return the next day, and did so in the company of his mother, Valentina Zagorova. She was reportedly forbidden entry, and when she contested this, the station commander allegedly beat her and threw her across the room, breaking her hand.
Borislav Nedev and Georgi Yorgandzhiev, both police officers, were reportedly arrested on 4 October 1996 in Stara Zagora and beaten with truncheons on the premises of the Regional Directorate for Internal Affairs.
On 7 December 1996, Detelin Apostolov and his brother-in-law, Kiril Nikolov, were allegedly beaten with truncheons and kicked all over their bodies at the former's house in Drumohar, Kyustendil region, by police officers of the Sofia Department of Internal Affairs.
Follow-up to allegations and replies first considered in 1996
In his letter of 11 July 1997, the Special Rapporteur requested further information on the outcome of investigations and any developments in the cases dealt with in 1996 concerning the following persons: Ilya Dimitrov Gherginova, Gancho Stefanov, Vasil Vasilev, Desislav Pavlov, Assen Ivanov, Dimitur Velev, Velislav Dobrev, Kiril Yordanov, and Lybcho Terziev.[back to the contents]
Burundi
On 8 April 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government on behalf of the Reverend Eliezer Ntunzwenimana of the Union of Baptist Churches of Burundi, who was allegedly arrested on or about 15 March 1997 in the parish of Rohero, Bujumbura, on the charge of having provided medical care to members of armed Hutu groups. He is said to be incapable of walking without crutches as a result of the torture to which he was allegedly subjected at the Special Investigations Brigade (BSR) in Bujumbura.
On 28 April 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government on behalf of a group comprising the following persons: Commandant Ndabacekure, an army officer; Captain Nziyimana, an army officer; Isaac Nitereka, an engineer and member of the Executive Committee of the Party for National Recovery (PARENA); Alexis Simbavimbere, a member of PARENA; Laurent Bimenyumuremyi, a deputy and representative of PARENA at Gitega; Emmanuel Manzi, Rwandan, a former member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front; Isidore Rufyikiri and Lt.-Col. Pascal Ntako, members of PARENA; Jean Paul Bizimana; and Léonidas Ntakaye, a member of PARENA's executive committee. They were allegedly arrested around 8 March 1997 on suspicion of having participated in a series of mine explosions at Bujumbura as well as a plot to assassinate the President, Major Buyoya. Most of them are said to have been detained initially in the National Intelligence Documentation Service at Bujumbura and then transferred to other places of detention outside the capital. It was also reported that all these persons were tortured and not allowed to receive visits from their families or lawyers.
On 29 May 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent another urgent appeal to the Government, this time on behalf of the 11 following persons who had allegedly been arrested between 8 and 26 April in various towns in connection with a series of mine explosions at Bujumbura: Djamali Nsabimana, Faidi Vyankandondera, Djamali Nzeyimana, Joseph Kamwenubusa, Arthur Nyankawindemera, Haruna Nyankawindemera, Hamisi Ramazani, Buyoya and Saïdo Habonimana, Yahya Hamisi and Hamadi Haruna.
On 12 June 1997, the Special Rapporteur, together with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, sent a second urgent appeal to the Government in connection with the 10 persons on behalf of whom he had already appealed on 28 April 1997. According to new information received, they had all been tortured. One of them, Pascal Ntako, allegedly died after being refused medical care and Isidore Rufykiri was said to be in the military hospital of Bujumbura. Moreover, no news had been obtained of Laurent Bimenyumuremyi since he was last seen with a head injury, a week after his arrest, at the headquarters of the National Documentation Service at Bujumbura.[back to the contents]
Cameroon
In a letter dated 1 July 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government the following cases, to which the Government replied on 5 September 1997.
Roger Alexis Wamba, Armand Mbe and Blaise Ngoune were allegedly arrested at the University of Yaoundé on 27 October 1996, accused of provoking unrest at the university. Initially they were allegedly detained overnight at the university where they were deprived of their clothes and beaten with sticks on their buttocks and the soles of their feet. In its reply, the Government confirmed the information concerning the arrest and charge of the above persons but said nothing about the alleged treatment to which they had been subjected.
Pa Mathias Gwei, Samuel Tita and Zacharia Khan were allegedly arrested and tortured as a result of violent incidents that occurred in the North-West Province in late March 1997. The first two were allegedly denied medical care and died as a result of torture and Zacharia Khan was said to have been severely beaten at the time of his arrest and shot in the thigh. The Government confirmed the arrests of Pa Mathias Gwei, Samuel Tita and Zacharia Khan. It stated that all three had received medical care but that Pa Mathias Gwei and Samuel Tita had died and Zacharia Khan, although improving, was allegedly still not in a state to undergo the questioning necessary to charge him.
Urgent appeals
On 15 May 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government on behalf of a group of about 200 persons, most of whom were said to be members or sympathizers of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) opposition party, who had allegedly been arrested as a result of the same incidents as Pa Mathias Gwei, Samuel Tita and Zacharia Khan, referred to above. A large number of detainees (including Joseph Abongwi, Simon Achu, Gregory Afenji and Edet Che Ndingsah) had allegedly been denied any contact with their families, lawyers and doctors, despite the fact that some of them had allegedly been injured at the time of their arrest, such as Martin Chenwie, Thomas Fonkwa, Peter Nyamka Niba, Wilson Che Niba, Wilfred Angwafor Nji and Paul Tibit Toka. It was said that many of them were tortured at the time of their arrest and that one at least, also identified by the Special Rapporteur in his letter of 1 July as Samuel Tita, allegedly died under torture.
On 11 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Justin Pokam, Thomas Seme, Konga Philip Kuate, Victoria Musong, Grégoire Diboule, Oliver Finya, Wavie Asago, Richard Nyieka, Stephen Aka, and Julius Mbenya, all members or supporters of the SDF, who were arrested between 6 and 29 October 1997 in the context of elections. Justin Pokam and Thomas Seme were both allegedly severely beaten in a police station in Yaoundé, while Oliver Finya, Wavie Asago, Richard Nyieka, Stephen Aka, and Julius Mbenya were all reportedly kept in especially harsh detention conditions and subjected to ill-treatment.[back to the contents]
Chad
In a letter of 26 May 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted the following cases to the Government.
Edmond Mbaïhornom was arrested in March 1995 at Moundou, Western Logone, after pamphlets of the Armed Forces for the Federal Republic opposition group were found in his home. In the course of his detention, he was allegedly placed in a cell called "the oven" because of the high temperature prevailing inside. On the second day, when he was being questioned, soldiers allegedly bound him hand and foot, threw him to the ground and kicked him with their boots; it is also said that they covered his face and poured water into his eyes and nose. Subsequently, he was allegedly forced to state on national radio that he had never been tortured.
Ndoyo Ambroise, chauffeur with the Méridien Biao Bank of Moundou, allegedly died in April 1995 as a result of injuries inflicted by a gendarmerie patrol which allegedly ordered him to stop when he was driving his car. According to the death certificate, he died of head injuries as a result of beating. It is said that although the family lodged a complaint with the Government Procurator of Moundou no legal action was taken.
Agboudja Hissein, from the village of Djoubjourmalak at Ati, in the Batha prefecture, in the centre of the country, allegedly died as a result of his injuries after having been violently beaten by the security forces in April 1995. Soldiers in the town of Ati allegedly beat Zakaria Daoud, as a result of which he died.
Ahmat Bougui Breme was allegedly beaten by security forces at Oumhadjer, in the Batha prefecture, in May 1995, because he refused to provide two soldiers with water free of charge. He allegedly died a few hours later.
Ndobi Abel was one of a group of persons arrested in August 1995 by soldiers in Kou-Douhou village in Western Logone. It was said that he was taken to a secret place of detention where he was tortured. He was subsequently taken to Moundou hospital for treatment and died the following day.
Mbaïtarem Nasson allegedly died after being tortured in August 1995 when he was detained by gendarmes at Moundou. He was reportedly forced to drink a large amount of water, tied to a tree, nails hammered into his head and then shot to death. Two other detainees, of whom one was Nguétigal Phil, were allegedly found dead in similar circumstances. The gendarmes responsible were not sanctioned in any way.
Belkoum Odette, accused of stealing bracelets and detained for over 10 days at the Béboto Brigade, Eastern Logone, was allegedly removed from her cell during the night of 25 to 26 September 1995 and taken by the police to her home where she died shortly afterwards as a result of ill-treatment. In order to obtain her confession, she had allegedly been forced to drink a large amount of water after which she was beaten and her nipples were burnt. Her daughter of 15 was allegedly tied in the arbatachar method and raped. It is said that the soldier primarily responsible for the death of Belkoum Odette and the rape of her daughter was arrested but escaped from prison and resumed his active service.
Mahamat Dare and Mahamat Sokou, accused of belonging to the Movement for Democracy and Development, were allegedly arrested at Moundou in 1995. Several weeks later they were transferred to Faya Largeau, where they died in November 1995. Throughout their detention they were allegedly subjected to various forms of torture. For example, they were allegedly beaten with electric wire and placed in cells where the temperature was extremely high.
Ali Adoum Younouss, a student at N'Djamena, was allegedly arrested with his father, Younouss Adoum Faki, in December 1995 at Abéché (Quaddai). Ali Adoum Younouss was allegedly questioned at N'Djamena concerning his father's political activities and tortured by having a nail introduced into his urethra.
Mbaïlassem Gédéon, arrested on 9 March 1996 by the gendarmes of the Moundou rural subprefecture on suspicion of being a member of the opposition, was later found dead in the premises of the Investigations Brigade. The Government Procurator of Moundou allegedly informed his superiors that Mbaïlassem Gédéon had died of suffocation owing to the heat in a crowded cell intended only for eight persons. No judicial inquiry was initiated.
Mahamat Ahmat Hanat, alias Atroon, was allegedly arrested in November 1996 in connection with a civil case and tortured to death at the Fourth District police station in N'Djamena. The police then allegedly left his body in the morgue of the central hospital without any explanation.
Collective cases have also been reported. For example, in August 1995, dozens of soldiers in several vehicles allegedly beat the inhabitants of Karyo-Ba with rifle butts and sticks, causing serious injuries, particularly to two persons, Enoch Najibi and Moudjiba Enoch.
In August 1996 a group of students was allegedly arrested at the University of N'Djamena. It is reported that several of them were stripped, forced to lie on the ground where they were beaten and subjected to mock executions. One of them, Faustin Togobé, allegedly suffered abdominal injuries which required 18 stitches.
Urgent appeals
On 7 January 1997 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government concerning Nestor Mbaïlo, Vincent Mbaïnaissem, Grégoire Boltoungar, Fleuri Negadjingum, Emmanuel Maïadjim, Blaise Mbaïdoual, Polinaire Mbaodji and Raymond Mbaïlassem. These persons were allegedly arrested in August and September 1996 in Western Logone, in the southern part of the country, by members of the security forces who accused them of belonging to an armed group. Some of them were allegedly tortured and denied medical care.[back to the contents]
Chile
On 22 September 1997 the Special Rapporteur transmitted the following 12 cases to the Government.
Julio Esperguel Santander was allegedly beaten by two motorized police officers (carabineros) on 31 December 1995 after refusing to show his papers; the Forensic Medical Service reportedly found him to have serious injuries. Juan Contreras was detained on 14 April 1996 by officers of the Pomaire police station, Santiago, who allegedly punched and kicked him; as a result of the beatings, which were reportedly confirmed at the San José de Melipilla hospital, he is said to have had difficulty in walking for several days. Elvis Valdés Henríquez was detained at midnight on 16 February 1996 by investigating officials carrying out an anti-drugs operation, who apparently mistook him for someone they were trying to find; the police officers allegedly searched his mother's house and beat her, as well as the invalid Rodrigo Valdés Henríquez; after being transferred to the Renca district he was allegedly insulted and beaten, and had to be taken to the Colina treatment centre, where he was reportedly found to have various injuries. Agustín Figueroa Sepúlveda was detained together with a friend on 10 August 1996 by police officers who took them to the thirtieth police station in Santiago; there they reportedly punched and kicked him for about an hour, as a result of which Mr. Figueroa sustained a broken nose; he was also reportedly burnt on the back with cigarettes; he was taken to the fourth public assistance centre, where the injuries were confirmed. Andrés Meléndez Sánchez was detained in Santiago on 11 September 1996 as he was returning from work by police officers who reportedly threw him to the ground and punched and kicked him; he was then put into a van with other persons and taken to the fourth public assistance centre; the doctor put three stitches in a face wound and three other stitches in a wound in the head, furthermore noting a fracture of the right arm and bruises on the right shoulder and the ankles. Patricio Gana Valdés was detained on 24 September by police officers from the forty-second police station in Santiago; he was moved to the forty-first police station, where he was allegedly beaten repeatedly with a stick on the head and body; several days later his family took him to the Sótero del Río hospital with serious injuries. Peter Carter Zamorano was arrested on 30 September 1996 by two policemen from the fifth police station in Santiago, as he was sleeping in his car, and charged with driving while drunk; on the police premises he was allegedly punched and kicked by three or more officers; he was also allegedly handcuffed to a post, picked up by his feet and dumped violently on the ground. Vicente Melipil Barrera, aged 16, was detained on 11 October 1996 in Santiago while he was drinking beer in a car together with a friend; after taking the two persons into custody, the policemen reportedly kicked and beat them violently with a stick. Rigoberto Antonio Mallias Díaz joined the Cerrillos air force unit to carry out his compulsory military service in October 1996; in December of the same year, accused of having inadequately performed a military manoeuvre, he was reportedly blindfolded and subjected to continued beatings, together with various fellow servicemen; they were also allegedly obliged to lie down and make a "carpet"; i.e. once they were lying on the ground, non-commissioned officers allegedly came and trod on them. Richard Bustos Suárez was reportedly beaten on 2 January 1997 by police officers from the seventh police station in Santiago; he had gone to the station to make a statement about having been shot in the leg the previous day by policemen during an operation near his home. Marco Andrade Sánchez, an inmate at the high security prison, was reportedly beaten on 17 January 1997 by officers of the Special Police Counter-insurgency Unit; as a result he allegedly sustained, inter alia, an injury on the right eyebrow and a strained and dislocated left shoulder. Francisco Alberto Soto Pávez, a resident of the village of San Pablo, Pudahuel commune, was reportedly assaulted in the early hours of the morning of 30 April 1997 by officers from the Pudahuel North police station; as a result of the assault, witnessed by members of his family, he was admitted as an emergency case to the Brain Surgery Hospital.
Urgent appeals
On 25 April 1997 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf of Johnny Pérez Torres, Andrés Serrano Leiva, Dagoberto Contreras Llanes and Guillermo Saavedra Aguilera. These four 19-year-old conscripts were reportedly arrested in early April 1997 and accused of involvement in the murder of another conscript, whose body had been found three months after his disappearance. A deputy reportedly announced publicly that the four had been beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened by members of the army to make them confess to having participated in the crime.[back to the contents]
China
On 27 January 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted the cases summarized in the paragraphs below.
A group of 14 Roman Catholics from Xiao County, Anhui province, were reportedly detained on 5 April 1996 while visiting local authorities to petition for the return of confiscated Church property. They were reportedly arrested by police officers, who allegedly beat the petitioners, causing some to lose consciousness. Zhou Guang'e, a woman in her 60s, Liu Fengxia, Dong Yimin and Zhang Zhonxiao were said to have been beaten for refusing to acknowledge being involved in an illegal religion. Zhou Guang'e's hair was allegedly pulled out.
Chen Longde was reportedly detained on 28 May 1996 in Zhejiang province for political activities considered to "endanger national security". He was subsequently assigned a three-year term of re-education through labour at Luoshan labour camp. Due to his refusal to acknowledge guilt and submission to the law in writing, a senior prison officer in the camp allegedly kicked, punched and beat him with an electric truncheon. A group of officers reportedly subjected him to a further series of kicks and beatings. Fellow-prisoners were said to have been offered reductions in their sentences if they succeeded in extracting the required report from him through beatings. To avoid further beatings, Chen Longde reportedly jumped from a third-storey window and was hospitalized with serious injuries.
The Special Rapporteur also transmitted the following cases from Tibet.
Tashi Dawa, a 17-year-old student at Dhanak Lomthen High School in Dranang, and a classmate, Nima, were reportedly reprimanded by police in December 1992, for stating that Tibet was not a province of China and demanding more Tibetan teachers. Following their expulsion from school, together with 31 other students who had joined their protest, police officers reportedly took the students to a storeroom. There, they allegedly branded Dawa, Nima and a third student on the bridge of the nose with a hot iron rod. Dawa and Nima were then reportedly taken to Lokha prison and held for three months, during which they were said to have been beaten regularly. Nima allegedly sustained a broken leg and Dawa was said to have been beaten with rifle butts on the head.
Lama Kyap, teacher at a school in Siling which emphasizes Tibetan language and culture, was reportedly arrested one month after the school had been opened with official permission in June 1993. He was allegedly detained for 32 days at Qinghai Hu Zhu district prison. During his detention, he was said to have been repeatedly interrogated as to whether the school had received funding and instructions from the Tibetan "Government in exile" in India. He was allegedly severely beaten, kicked, pressed for one half-hour with electric cattle prods, and struck repeatedly with rods on his head. His airtight room was reportedly sprayed with insecticide, forcing him to inhale the chemical for two days and causing sores in his throat. Following his release he was reportedly hospitalized for 2½ months.
Tsering Youdon, a 16-year-old girl, was reportedly arrested at her home in Lhuntse on 29 February 1994, following the arrest of the headmaster of her school. While interrogated at the police station as to whether the headmaster had taught her to demand independence for Tibet, a hot iron was allegedly placed firmly on her leg and left there for five minutes. She was reportedly also thrown against a desk, resulting in injuries to the head, and kicked in the stomach.
Thubten Tsering, a teacher who protested in March 1994 to the authorities in Meldrogongkar that students were not receiving sufficient instruction in the Tibetan language and led a demonstration for this purpose, was reportedly arrested together with 60 other demonstrators. He was reportedly detained for six months, with his hands and feet shackled, at the prison in Meldrogongkar. He was said to have been beaten every other day. For a substantial portion of his detention he was reportedly held in a concrete box the size of a coffin. He was reportedly released without having been taken to court and was forbidden from resuming his teaching duties.
Tenzin Yangzom, a nun, was reportedly arrested on 10 June 1994 after she had affixed a poster declaring Tibetan independence and a Tibetan flag to the main government building in Lhoka district. At the Tsethang Detention Centre, a police officer allegedly pushed her onto large, jagged stones. For five months she was reportedly kept in a cell smeared with faeces and urine. During the weekly interrogation she was allegedly beaten and shocked repeatedly with cattle prods to her stomach, breasts, back, face and arms. She was also allegedly punched and kicked and trampled upon with boots. After the five months, she was reportedly convicted at Tsethang People's High Court of being a "counter-revolutionary" and was sentenced to a three-year prison term. She was reportedly released for medical reasons, but forbidden to resume her life as a nun.
Urgent appeals sent and replies received
On 6 June 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Liu Nianchun, Zhou Guoqiang and Gao Feng, detained at Shuanghe labour camp, who had allegedly embarked on hunger strikes in protest at extensions of their sentences. Liu Nianchun had allegedly been held in solitary confinement and subjected to electric shocks and deprivation of water as punishment for his hunger strike. He was said to be suffering from gastrointestinal problems, an enlarged lymph node, rectal bleeding, festering jaw sores and high blood pressure and was allegedly denied adequate medical treatment. Zhou Guoqiang, who reportedly suffered from tuberculosis, heart problems and nephritis, was also said to have been denied adequate medical attention. In the same urgent appeal the Special Rapporteur addressed the case of Yao Zhenxiang and Yao Zhenxian, two brothers detained at the Dafeng penal farm in Jiangsu province near Shanghai, who had been arrested in April 1996. They had allegedly been beaten severely, were said to be in poor health and denied adequate treatment. Access to their family had reportedly been denied since October 1996. In its reply of 23 July 1997, the Government acknowledged the detention of the above-mentioned persons. It stated that Liu Nianchun and Zhou Guoqiang had both been committed to three-years of re-education at Shuanghe rehabilitation centre in Beijing for "instigating social disorder". In the case of Zhou Guoqiang this period had been prolonged by one year because he committed a serious infringement of the centre's regulations. Gao Feng was given two years and six months of re-education at the same centre for "causing social disturbance". The Government denied allegations that any of them had been mistreated or refused medical care. Liu Nianchun had complained of illness but was given medical attention and Zhou Guoqiang enjoyed normal health. Regarding Yao Zhenxiang and Yao Zhenxian, the Government stated that they had been committed to respectively three and two years of re-education through labour at No. 1 rehabilitation centre in Shanghai for "reproducing and distributing pornography". The Government assured the Special Rapporteur that they never suffered beating, could be visited by their families according to the regulations, and were given regular medical check-ups and on various occasions given leave to seek medical treatment in a hospital. According to the Government, they both enjoyed normal health at the time of reply.
On 30 June 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal concerning Wei Jingsheng in Jile No. 1 prison, Tangshan, Hebei province, on whose behalf previous urgent appeals had been made by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in conjunction with the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers and on freedom of opinion and expression. He had reportedly been subjected to repeated beatings by other inmates during which prison guards allegedly looked on without intervening. The main instigator of the beatings was said to have been awarded a reduction of sentence by the prison authorities. Wei Jingsheng was reportedly punished by denial of appropriate medical care although said to be suffering from a heart condition, high blood pressure, arthritis and damage to his cervical vertebrae. In its reply of 28 July 1997, the Government stated that Wei Jingsheng had barged into the prison storage room without permission on 29 May 1997 and physically assaulted the storage room clerk, a fellow prisoner. The latter did not fight back, but Wei was restrained by the guard on duty. The prison authorities took no action against Wei as he had admitted fault and promised not to behave like this again. The Government further assured the Special Rapporteur that his state of health was quite normal. Allegations that he had been beaten, suffered ill-health and had been denied medical treatment were unfounded.
On 7 October 1997 the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Jampel Tendar, a Buddhist monk from Gongkar Choede monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. He was allegedly arrested in June 1997 after having declared his support for the Dalai Lama and detained at a detention centre in Tsethang and the Gutsa detention centre. He was said to have been beaten during arrest and in detention.[back to the contents]
Colombia
On 20 January 1997 the Government replied with respect to the case of Jairo Garavito Tirado, transmitted by the Special Rapporteur in 1996. This person was allegedly tortured by members of a paramilitary group that had reportedly captured him in May 1995 in Betulia, Santander. The Government indicated that an investigation into this case had been opened and that the competent prosecutor had ordered the submission of evidence.[back to the contents]
Cuba
On 22 September 1997 the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information about the following cases.
Adolfo Durán Figueredo, an inmate at the Camagüey Kilo 8 prison, was reportedly beaten on 21 April 1997 by a guard from ward No. 6. The beating allegedly resulted in a fracture of the left cheekbone, requiring him to be placed in the prison medical centre. Another inmate of the same prison, Víctor Gómez Díaz, was also reportedly tortured by guards on 5 May, causing him a head injury, a sprained left wrist and numerous bruises.
Lázaro García Menocal, an inmate at the Agüica prison, Matanzas, allegedly received a beating on 27 February 1997 when a letter addressed to the President of the National Assembly denouncing abuses against prisoners was confiscated from him during a search of his cell. It is further reported that he was confined to a punishment cell and that visits from his family were suspended.[back to the contents]
Cyprus
By letter of 10 July 1997, the Special Rapporteur brought to the Government's attention allegations concerning Necip Sariçiçekli, who was reportedly arrested on 8 March 1997 in southern Cyprus on charges of espionage. While in custody, seven police officers allegedly severely beat him and threatened to kill him and his children. He is reported to have suffered a 5 centimetre bruise, consistent with impact from a blunt instrument, and multiple bruises and abrasions. In the Government's reply of 3 November 1997, it was said that force proportionate to the circumstances was used to restrain the accused at the time of arrest, but denied that he was in any way ill-treated while in custody.
Information received from Government concerning cases included in previous reports
In the case of Erkan Emez, who was reportedly detained and subjected to extensive beatings and other forms of ill-treatment by police in October 1995, the Government replied that, following receipt of a United Nations medical officer's report on the subject, the Attorney-General of the Republic decided to suspend criminal proceedings against Emez and to open an independent investigation of his complaints. In response to the complaint, the Ombudsman, who is the person legally empowered to investigate complaints of maltreatment by the police, produced a report in which he found that the facts complained of violated human rights and might constitute a criminal offence. Although the Attorney-General of the Republic declared himself prepared to take criminal action against the perpetrators, this could not proceed without Erkan Emez's testimony which he was refusing to give. Complaints had, however, been submitted by him to the European Commission on Human Rights and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.[back to the contents]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
On 19 September 1997, the Special Rapporteur, together with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sent an urgent appeal to the Government on behalf of Didi Mwati Bulambo, Kylosho Kyalondawa and Donatien Mazombi Mutekulwa, members of the non-governmental organization Action Group for the Development of Human Rights, who were arrested at Kamituga in August.
On 28 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur, in conjunction with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sent an urgent appeal on behalf of Ingele Ifoto, Elia Ona Bobo, Justin Kapempe, Kalinga Metre, Jean Pierre Ngoma, Rene Ndjoli Ngoma, Joseph Ngoma, Jean Marie Lukundji, Marccel Ngoy Wa Ngoyi and Atoba John, members of the political party Forces du Futur, who were allegedly arrested on 25 November 1997. According to reports, they were brought to the gendarmerie headquarters in Kinshasa, where they were all beaten.[back to the contents]
Djibouti
On 2 October 1997 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government on behalf of Mohamed Kadamy Youssouf, a member of the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) opposition movement, his wife Aicha Dabale Ahmed, Ali Mohamed Maki Houmed, Mohamed Daoud Chehem and Kamil Mohamed Ahmed, also members of FRUD. These persons, belonging to the Afar ethnic group, were allegedly arrested in Ethiopia on 26 September 1997 and handed over to the Djibouti authorities the following day. Since then they have been detained incommunicado at a detention centre in the capital.[back to the contents]
Ecuador
By letter of 9 December 1996 the Government referred to a series of cases transmitted by the Special Rapporteur in 1995 concerning Peruvian citizens reportedly arrested and tortured by Ecuadorian authorities (E/CN.4/1995/34, paras. 167-171). According to this reply, of the Peruvian citizens mentioned by the Special Rapporteur only Camacho Panta Céspedes, Luis Enrique Adanaque Camacho and Alonso Saba Morales had been arrested.
Urgent appeals
On 21 March 1997 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal concerning the situation in the García Morena prison, Quito. According to information received, in the night of 17 March 1997 a group of prisoners, including Lincoln Polit, Luis Lavalle, Francisco Sánchez, Roberto Agustín García, Jaime Martínez and Arturo Bermúdez, were seriously ill-treated after beginning a peaceful hunger strike to urge the authorities to honour certain agreements that had been reached. On the above-mentioned date several hooded members of the National Police allegedly beat the prisoners with batons and pipes and fired pellets at them, causing various injuries. The prisoners had reportedly expressed fears that such actions might be repeated.[back to the contents]
Egypt
By letter dated 28 April 1997 the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government information on the cases summarized below.
Ashraf 'Uwais Sulayman was reportedly arrested on 9 July 1994 in the "Ahnassia Case" involving alleged members of al-Gama'a al Islamiya. At the State Security Investigations (SSI) branch in Bani Sueif, he was allegedly blindfolded, handcuffed, punched in the face, kicked and repeatedly subjected to electric shocks. A forensic medical examination revealed several trauma injuries. Ten other persons in the case had allegedly been acquitted on a court ruling that their confessions had been extracted under torture.
Mohammad Mohammad Ibraheem Toaima was reportedly arrested on 20 December 1994 on suspicion of involvement in al-Gama'a al-Islamiya. At the SSI headquarters in Shubra he was allegedly subjected to suspension from the wrists, resulting in a dislocated left arm.
Abdel-Lateef Idris Ismail was reportedly detained at Heliopolis police station on 25 March 1995 accused of stealing a tape recorder from his work. Three named officers allegedly stripped him, suspended him by the feet from the ceiling fan and applied electric shocks. As a result, he reportedly suffered paralysis of the left arm and foot, inability to speak, hysteria and burns on the back.
Kamal Ibraheem Hamed was reportedly arrested on 10 April 1995 and held until 16 April in Ittsa police station in Fayyom. Two identified police officers allegedly beat him, placed an electric cable on his back, stripped and bound him in a steel contraption.
Mohammed Ahmad Mustapha, Jaber Ahmad Mustapha, Youssef Abdu Youssef and Atef Abdalla Razeq were reportedly arrested in Port Said on 27 May 1995, suspected of having set fire to an effigy of [British Marshal] Allenby. At Al-Dawahi police station they were allegedly beaten with sticks and lashes and had buckets of cold water poured over them. Beatings were said to have continued at the Criminal Investigations Unit.
Hanem Ahmad Mahmoud Shehata Al-Sutuhi (female), arrested on 16 August 1995, and Abdel-Megeid Al-Tohami Al-Issawi were both reportedly tortured in police custody by identified officers on suspicion of involvement in a killing in Meet-Ghamr. Hanem was allegedly subjected to electric shocks and beatings with a stick to coerce a confession. Abdel Megeid was allegedly slapped in the face, had his hands tied behind his back, was forced to sleep face-down and beaten with bamboo sticks on his feet.
Mohsen Saeed Abu Zeid, a driver, was allegedly subjected to severe beatings on 23 October 1995 at the Abassiyya bridge in Cairo by identified officials of the Special Guard and the Police. The beatings, which were allegedly inflicted by fists, kicking and the butt of a gun, were said to have lasted for four hours. When Mohsen Saeed Abu Zeid registered a complaint at Wayli police station, he was allegedly threatened with detention as a reprisal.
Mohammad Wagdi Mohammad Durra was reportedly arrested and tortured at the SSI building in Tanta on three occasions between January 1995 and October 1996 following his conversion from Islam to Christianity. He was allegedly subjected to electric shocks, beatings, suspension by the wrists and left in his underclothes for prolonged periods. His interrogators reportedly tried to obtain from him information about other converts.
Some 100 prisoners at the high security prison in Cairo were reportedly subjected to collective punishment by flogging on 17 June 1996, after a watch had been discovered in one inmate's cell and part of a ball-point pen had been found in another cell. They were allegedly stripped and flogged with whips on their backs and feet. Among the prisoners were reportedly: Safwat Ahmad Hassan Abdel Ghani, Muhammad Sa'eed Atiyya, Nabeel Abdel Fattah, Amal Abdel Wahab Hassan, Nasir Shaaban Sadiq, Badr Muhammad Metwally, Magdi Ahmad Mahmoud, Abdel Meguid Ali Ahmad, Hosam Muhammad Khamees, Ahmad Farghaly Mubarak, Anwar Okasha, Ahmad Abdo S'leem, Ahmad El-Sayed, Salaheddin Mohy Sayed, Ahmad Abdel Fattah, Alaa' Hamed, Ahmed Shehata Abdel 'Al, Mahmood Uthman, Salah Hussein Ibrahim Sabra, Abdel Hady Zeidam, Hisham Abdel Zaher Abdel Rahman, Muhammad Ibrahim Ibrahim, Abdallah Abdel Quddoos, Hamdi Muhammad Kamil, Sayed Farag Muhammad Farag, Abdallah Hussein Abul'Ela, Hudhayfa Ahmad Abdel Moety, Mohey Ali Abdel Hamid, Hani El-Shazli, Mokhtar Ahmad Hassan Hamza, Hilmy Okasha, Muhammad Mu'awad, Atef Abdel Gawad, Ahmad Ibrahim Khalil, Mohy Abdel Aziz, Gamal Uthman, Atef Shehata Abdel 'Al, Ragab Abdel Ra'ouf Khalil, Hisham Ahmad Qassem, and Mustafa Muhammad Mahmoud.
Information received from the Government on cases included in previous reports
On 5 March 1997, the Government replied to a number of cases transmitted in previous years (see E/CN.4/1996/35/Add.1, paras. 182-210 and E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.1, paras. 124-142). The replies are summarized in the following paragraphs.
With respect to the following 14 persons, allegedly subjected to torture, the Government stated that the Assistant Attorney-General's Office for Human Rights had sent several summonses to them, but that none of them answered those summonses. In order to complete the investigations, the Government requested updated information concerning the places of residence of: Gamil Hassan Metwalli Sayyid, Mustafa Sadiq Ibrahim Ibrahim Musa, Ashraf Abul Hassan Ibrahim Qasim, Muhamad Alawi Ali Abdul Muhaimin, Atiyya Ahmad Muhammad al-Sayyid, Midhat al-Sayyid Ahmad Hilal, Muhammad Khalaf Youssuf Abdul Rahman Zayid, Ahmad Thabit Farag Muhamad, Atif Gamal Mahmoud Umran, Abul Magd Hani Sabir Siyam, Khalid Said Mahmoud, Mu'tazz Ali Abdul Karim Abdul Ghani, Tal'at Fuad Muhammad Qasim and Ahmad Fathi Hafiz al-Dhayit.
Regarding 17 of the persons accused in military cases Nos. 18 and 24, allegedly subjected to torture (Muhammad Samir Ubaid al-Sayyid, Khalid Abdul Fattah Hassan Mustafa, Khalifa Abdul Azim Abdul Aziz Khalifa, Yahya Khalafallah Muhammad Ali, Rabi' Ahmad Rikabi Ahmad, Za'id Abdul Sami' Ali Ammara, Ahmad Shawqi Thabit Abdul Al, Abdul Rahim Abdul Ghaffar Mursi Abdul Bari, Muhammad Gallal Ahmad, Samir al-Sayyid Mahmoud Raihan, Yaseen Abdul Sattar Yaseen, Gamal Muhammad Abu Zaid Shabib Hilal, Tariq Metwalli al-Iraqi, Islam Ragab Abdul Hadi Sha'lan, Khalifa Abu Zaid Shabib Hilal, Tariq Metwalli Ahmad al-Tukhi and Yasir Haggag Ahmad Haggag), the Government replied that the accused officers had been summoned for questioning, but had denied the accusations. The victims had stated that they had been subjected to beatings, but they were unable to identify the persons responsible. The Department of Public Prosecutions had therefore closed the investigation.
With respect to the case of Ramadhan Mahmoud Ahmad, a lawyer who was allegedly tortured at the Abu Za'bal branch of the SSI in July 1994, the Government repeated its previous statement that the lawyer had presented a falsified visit permit when visiting a detained terrorist with the latter's wife. The Government again replied that the Department of Public Prosecution had begun an investigation and ordered the lawyer's release, but added that neither the lawyer nor the woman had lodged a complaint concerning torture.
In the case of 51 persons arrested at the village of Zayida, Ousim, Giza, on 5 December 1993, many of whom had allegedly been subjected to torture, the Government replied that nine police officials, who had been found responsible for abuses in the light of the findings of the investigation by the Assistant Attorney-General's Office for Human Rights, had been referred to the Criminal Court. The case was, however, said to have been postponed until 26 May 1997 so that the witnesses could be heard. By letter dated 28 April 1997, the Special Rapporteur requested to be kept informed of the developments in the case.
Concerning the collective case of Abdul Moneim Muhammad Sayyid Ahmad, Iman Abdul Moneim (13 years old), Muna Muhammad Gad, Ahmad Abdul Moneim Muhammad (12 years old) and Zain Ahmad Sabir, who were allegedly tortured during the period 14 to 24 July 1994 at Manshiyat Nasir police station, the Government stated that the Department of Public Prosecutions, after hearing the witnesses and considering the forensic medical report, had closed the investigation on 17 April 1997 due to inadequate evidence.
Concerning the case of Fath ul-Bab Abdul Moneim Sha'lan, allegedly beaten to death, and his son Yasser, allegedly tortured at Helwan police station in August 1994, the Government replied that the Department of Public Prosecutions had indicted one of the officers and other persons charged with using excessive force and causing injury. The Southern Cairo Criminal Court had on 23 September 1996 instructed the Department of Forensic Medicine to carry out a medical examination of the victims. No judgement had been handed down yet. By letter dated 28 April 1997, the Special Rapporteur requested the Government to be informed of the developments in the case.
With respect to the case of Magdi Shadhili Abdul Rahman, who was allegedly tortured at al-Maaza and Salam police stations in Cairo in March and June 1993, the Government stated that he had dropped his complaint after being questioned and that the case had been closed.
In the cases of Muhammad Muhammad Abdul Rahman and Khalid Sagr Ibrahim, both allegedly tortured at Zagazig police station in 1993, the Government stated that the Department of Public Prosecutions had heard the witnesses and considered the forensic medical reports, but had closed the cases on 18 November 1993 and 11 May 1994 respectively due to inadequate evidence.
With respect to Muhammad Magdi Ibrahim, allegedly tortured at the Giza Security Directorate in September 1993, the Government replied that three officers found to have ill-treated the victim had been subjected to disciplinary action and docked three days' salary each.
In the case of Sami Lutfi Abul Magd, allegedly subjected to torture at Meet Ghamr police station in September 1993, the accused officer had been found guilty, subjected to disciplinary action and had been transferred to another police station.
Concerning Muhammad Ahmad Munir Shibl, allegedly tortured at 10th Ramadan police station in April 1994, the Government stated that he had been sentenced to six months' imprisonment for theft, but that he had not lodged a complaint in relation to torture.
In the cases of Muhammad Mubarak Muwafi and Gamal Mubarak Muwafi, both allegedly tortured at the Investigations Unit at Qooss police station in April 1994, the Government replied that the officer had been subjected to disciplinary action by being docked 10 days' salary.
With respect to Ahmad Ismail Ahmad, allegedly tortured at the 2nd Zagazig police station in November 1993, the Government stated that he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for theft. Following his complaint that he had been tortured, the Department of Public Prosecutions heard the witnesses and considered the forensic medical report but closed the investigation due to inadequate evidence.
Urgent appeals
The Special Rapporteur transmitted two urgent appeals, on 23 June and 4 July 1997, on behalf of Hamdein Sabbahi, director of the Al-Watan-Arabi Information Center, Mohamed Abdu, veterinarian, Hamdi Heikal and Mohamed Soliman Fayad, both lawyers. All were reportedly arrested on or around 17 June 1997 in connection with their opposition to Law 69 of 1992, regulating the relation between landowners and tenants of agricultural land. They were allegedly subjected to torture by security officers at Tora penitentiary. In the urgent appeal dated 4 July 1997, the Special Rapporteur further raised the alleged arrest of some 250 farmers on 1 and 2 July in connection with protests against the agricultural law. At least 150 farmers were reportedly arrested in al-'Attaf in al-Mahalla al-Kubra, after some of them had allegedly set fire to the Agricultural Association building and warehouses. In Upper Egypt, 95 farmers were said to have been arrested.[back to the contents]
Equatorial Guinea
The Special Rapporteur sent four urgent appeals to the Government. The first, dated 21 February 1997, was on behalf of Adamu Amado Gema Zang, a member of the Progress Party arrested in Cogo in June 1996, allegedly tortured and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment by a military court. It was also reported that Mr. Gema Zang had serious health problems and that in November 1996 he asked to be examined by a physician, a request that had still not been granted.
The second appeal was sent on 11 July 1997 on behalf of Amancio Gabriel Nse Angue, Juan Nsogo Mbomio, Nicolás Eko Ndjoli, Pedro Ndong Mabale, Juan de Mata Ayong, Jesús Abena Evita, Hipólito Ndong, Manuel Afugu, Jovino Ovono, Antonio Ndumu Elo, José María Alogo and Amancio Abeso, all of them members of the Convergencia para la Democracia Social Party and residing in Bata; and Ramón Abaga Mba, Alberto Ndong Ncogo, Mariano Oyono Ndong, Pedro Ndong Mba, Santiago Elo Mba, Francisco Mba Abeso, José Nve Elo, Alejo Sima Oyono and Buenaventura Obiang Nsue, members of the Fuerza Demócrata Republicana Party (FDR). All of these persons were reportedly arrested without a warrant on 1 July 1997 by police officers in Bata and held incommunicado. On 18 July 1997 the Government reported that the members of the Fuerza Demócrata Republicana group had been arrested for ordinary offences and not political crimes and that they had been conditionally released on 8 July. The members of the Convergencia para la Democracia Social Party had provoked an incident with the owner of the premises they were occupying without paying the rent, that being the reason why the police had intervened; however, they had not been deprived of liberty. The Government also stated that no one could be deprived of his freedom for his political affiliation or participation in political activities as recognized by law.
The third urgent appeal was sent on 22 September 1997 on behalf of Sinecio Ngua Esono and Francisco Abeso Mba, arrested on 26 August 1997 in Mongomo, Río Muni. It is reported that both were members of the FDR and that they were arrested when Sinecio Ngua returned from Malabo after participating in a seminar on the independent press. For the first three weeks of detention they were reportedly kept in a container in the port of Bata, where they were allegedly severely beaten. On 15 September they are said to have been moved to the Bata prison, where they were allegedly held incommunicado and without medical assistance.
The fourth urgent appeal, dated 14 November 1997, was made on behalf of Felipe Ondo Obiang, former parliamentarian and leader of the Fuerza Demócrata Republicana, and Guillermo Nguema Ela, former Minister and a member of the FDR. They were allegedly arrested on 5 November 1997 in Libreville by Gabonese security forces and transferred the same day to Malabo. They were reportedly being held incommunicado.[back to the contents]
Ethiopia
By letters dated 28 April and 17 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted the following cases to the Government.
Illiyas Mohamed Ibro, a member of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), was reportedly detained on three occasions between 1993 and 1995. During his second detention in June 1994 at the government army camp in Jijiga, he was allegedly beaten with electric wire each evening for 15 days. In January 1995, he was reportedly detained for two months in Harawaja and then transferred to Gara Hakim military camp. For a month he allegedly had his arm tied tightly around his back for some four hours each day, as a result of which he was said to be permanently unable to extend his arm.
Ali Hayder was among some 200 persons reportedly detained from Makaballo village, Hararge, in late May 1996 by government soldiers and held in an army camp. There, soldiers allegedly tied his arms tightly behind his back and bound them to his legs while they rolled him over sharp stones and beat him with rifles. This treatment was reportedly carried out for some three hours on several consecutive days. After his family paid a bribe, the beatings were allegedly limited to the palms of his hands.
Gaali Nurreddin Hussein, from Omonada village, Jimma, Illubabor, a refugee since 1990 in Djibouti, was said to have been voluntarily repatriated by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in October 1995. Upon his arrival in Dire Dawa, officials reportedly declared his UNHCR papers "no good" and accused him of OLF membership. He was transferred to the second police station in Dire Dawa, where he was allegedly threatened with a pistol, stripped and whipped, and a container with 1½ litres of water was attached to his testicles. He was reportedly held without food for 28 days.
Abdul Bahar Abdurahiman, from Chalanko, East Hararge, was reportedly detained and tortured 10 times from 1992 to 1996, including 8 times at a secret detention centre at Kumutu military camp, near Chalanko. During his last detention of six weeks in January and February 1996, he was reportedly tied and beaten each day and given little food and water. He allegedly had a plastic rope tied around his neck in a mock hanging and a gun was put to his head while asked to reveal the whereabouts of OLF members.
Tamagne Beyene, an artist, was reportedly detained by plain-clothes police officers in Addis Ababa on 24 June 1996. He was reportedly interrogated at an unknown detention centre about his criticism of the Government. When he did not respond to questions relating to his ethnic origin, he was allegedly forced to run through a muddy field while being flogged and pushed into the mud over the course of 1 hour and 40 minutes. He was also said to have been beaten with a metal piece, forced to place his feet upon a chair with his hands on the ground, after which the officer allegedly jumped upon his back, threw him to the ground and beat him with a stick. Furthermore, he was allegedly forced to perform various physical exercises while being beaten, kicked and flogged.
Mahmoud Ali Said was reportedly abducted by unidentified security agents in May 1995 from Birka-Tirtira, on suspicion of having links with the OLF. He was reported to have been held for 20 months in secret detention during which he was allegedly tortured, leaving him unable to stand or walk. In January 1997, he was said to have been transferred to Dire Dawa prison and later to Shinnilee. Suffering from hepatitis and gastritis, he had allegedly been denied medical treatment. The Special Rapporteur also made an urgent appeal on his behalf dated 17 February 1997.
Mustefa Dheko Tufa, a health worker, was reportedly arrested on two occasions by security forces in Addis Ababa, on 1 July 1992 and 2 March 1997. He is said to have been detained in the former navy camp and central investigation centre in Addis Ababa, on suspicion of supporting the OLF. During his detention, he was reportedly subjected to electric shocks, suspension and beatings with a gun as a result of which he was said to have lost a toe, to have a disabled left foot and occasional paralysis in his legs.
Dheko Tosa Tufa, a 65-year-old farmer from the village of Rira Dinsho in Bale province and the father of Mustafa Dheko Tufa, was reportedly detained by the army from 18 March until 31 December 1995 and rearrested in May 1997, on the accusation of supporting the OLF. During his detention at the army detention centres in Dallo, Goba and Dinsho, he was allegedly subjected to prolonged suspension, beatings and threats.
Urgent appeals and replies by the Government
On 17 February 1997, the Special Rapporteur made an urgent appeal on behalf of Mahmoud Ali Said, a farmer suspected of OLF involvement, who had allegedly been subjected to torture and had been denied medical treatment (see paragraph 125).
On 27 March 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of some 200 students of Addis Ababa University who were said to have been arrested at a peaceful demonstration on 21 March 1997. They were reportedly held at the Shogele Meda police barracks in Addis Ababa where at least some of them were reported to have been beaten. On 4 April 1997, the Government confirmed the arrest of some 200 Addis Ababa University students, who had tried to stage a demonstration without a permit in contravention of Proclamation No. 37/1991. The students had been released after submitting a formal apology. The Government denied allegations of ill-treatment.
On 7, 13 and 28 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur made three urgent appeals on behalf of a group of some 20 prominent members of the Oromo ethnic group in Addis Ababa, who had allegedly been arrested in the first half of November 1997. Among those arrested were reportedly Beyene Abdi, Beyene Belissa, Hussein Abdi, Haji Sahlu Kebte, Gabissa Lemessa and Tilahun Hirpasa, all board members of the Human Rights League, as well as Zewde Chamada, Adam Hassen, Adugna Fitee, Mohamed Wayu, Gadissa Boltossa, Addisu Beyene and Hailu Tarfassa Tasso. All were allegedly kept in incommunicado detention, accused of having links with the OLF and of involvement in bombings in Addis Ababa and other towns. Beyene Belissa, a disabled man, reportedly had his artificial limb smashed by the police during his arrest and was refused the use of his walking stick in prison. Some of them were said to be in poor health.
On 24 November 1997, the Government replied to the urgent appeals of 7 and 13 November 1997, confirming the arrest of Beyene Abdi, Beyene Belissa, Tilahun Hirpassa and Gabissa Lemessa. They had been arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the court because of their involvement in supporting terrorist activities. The Government considered fears of torture or ill-treatment unfounded and assured the Special Rapporteur that detainees were accorded humane treatment and full respect for their person in accordance with the Ethiopian Constitution and other relevant laws. The four detainees had also been informed of the reasons for their arrest and their rights and their case was being processed in line with due process of law.
Information received from the Government with respect to a case included in last year's report
In its letter dated 29 January 1997, the Government replied to the urgent appeal dated 8 November 1996 which the Special Rapporteur had made in conjunction with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, on behalf of a large number of persons detained in Hararge province suspected of supporting the OLF, including detainees reportedly held in secret detention centres in Deder district and 14 persons who had allegedly been summarily killed in detention (see E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.1, para. 156).
The Government stated that one person had died in a conflict with the OLF. Regarding another person who had joined the OLF, it could not be ascertained whether he was dead or alive, but the Government stated that it had not taken any adverse action against that person. Another person was said to be in prison in connection with murder charges. One was pending arrest on a charge of murder. Another person had been arrested in connection with a murder investigation but had been released when found not to be implicated. The Government stated that he and two other persons mentioned in the urgent appeal were alive and leading a normal life. The Government further replied that the Regional Administration of Oromia had affirmed that there were no secret detention centres in Deder district, only one prison, one police station and one police substation in Kobo town. Some of the detainees there were members of the OLF, but they were detained on charges under the Ethiopian Penal Code and not for their political persuasion.[back to the contents]
Georgia
In a letter of 5 February 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government the following cases.
Badri Zarandia (former commander of the town of Zugdidi), and Gurgen Malania, Gabriel Bendeliani, Karlo Jichonaia, Zviad Sherozia and Murtaz Gulua, all members of the National Guard loyal to the Parliament ousted in 1992, were reportedly convicted on 17 June 1996 on charges of murder, banditry and high treason following lengthy pre-trial detention during which they were allegedly tortured until they confessed to the charges. The torture is said to have included: beatings with rifle butts, sticks, truncheons and chair legs; beatings while hung by the feet, sometimes with a gas mask placed over the face, with the air supply turned off at intervals; beatings along the length of the body while tied to a pole placed between a table and a chair; kicking of the abdomen; needles inserted under the nails; pulling out of fingernails with pliers; threats made against the family; and having a grenade placed in the mouth while threats were made to remove the safety pin. In addition, the injuries received by Badri Zarandia during his arrest in October 1994 necessitated amputation of his leg following a reported lack of prompt medical attention.
Giorgi Korbesashvili was reportedly arrested on 27 June 1995, charged with attempting to blow up the Vakhusti bridge. At the police station he was allegedly beaten severely, including with truncheons and chairs and to the soles of the feet, and had his head smashed against the walls and against an iron safe. When the officers tried to get him to sit on a bottle, he attempted suicide by cutting the blood vessels in his right hand. The police allegedly continued to ill-treat him in hospital. He was transferred to an isolation cell in Tbilisi police department on 29 June, apparently against the advice of doctors, where he was allegedly subjected to further beatings, causing the sutures in his hand to tear and a bicep tendon to be torn. He was allegedly forced to sign a confession and on 7 July was taken to a temporary detention cell at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He allegedly began a hunger strike, whereupon he was transferred to Tbilisi investigation detention cell where he reportedly again attempted suicide by cutting his left hand. After the hand was sutured, on 27 July, he tried to commit suicide once more by cutting his throat.[back to the contents]
Germany
By letter dated 17 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received allegations on the following cases.
Abdennour Medjden, a rejected Algerian asylum seeker, was allegedly subjected to ill-treatment by the Federal Border Protection Police on two occasions, when they failed to deport him to Algeria from Frankfurt am Main airport. The first time, in the beginning of 1996, he was allegedly punched in the face with leather gloves, insulted and threatened with more beatings. The second time, in June 1996, he was reportedly beaten with his hands and feet tied and had his head repeatedly hit against the floor until he lost consciousness. He was allegedly threatened with being beaten to death the next time. He was reportedly left without any legal or medical care for 10 days.
Sefer Avci, of Turkish origin, was reportedly ill-treated by plain-clothes police officers during an identity check in Frankfurt am Main on 13 May 1996. When he asked one of the officers to identify himself, he was allegedly pushed, kicked, had his arm twisted and was seriously hit before being handcuffed and arrested. A medical examination was said to have revealed multiple bruises and abrasions. A penal order for violently resisting a police identity check was reportedly withdrawn pending investigations into his complaint of police assault.
Sahhaydar and Hatice Yildiz, a couple of Turkish origin residing in Berlin, were reportedly assaulted at their home on 24 October 1996 by a dozen police officers. Sahhaydar was said to have been beaten with fists and batons and a gag was allegedly put over his mouth. He reportedly sustained a fractured nose, an injured thumb and bruises on the head and ribs. Hatice was allegedly thrown against a cupboard and dragged over the floor. She reportedly suffered a fractured nose, multiple bruising and shock. Their 13-year-old son was allegedly slapped on the head and had a gun held to the back of his head. The prosecuting authorities in Berlin reportedly opened an investigation into the alleged ill-treatment of Sahhaydar and Hatice Yildiz. An investigation into allegations that Sahhaydar had resisted police authority was said to have been dropped.
Dr. Waldemar Kalita, a Polish medical doctor, was allegedly ill-treated by members of the Federal Border Protection Police on the evening of 15 December 1994, while waiting in his car at the border crossing near Guben. He was allegedly hit in the face and on the head until he fell out of the car, pushed against the ground, kicked in the stomach and had his hands handcuffed behind his back. Following a passport check, they reportedly took off his handcuffs and ordered him to leave. Medical examinations are said to have revealed bruises and swellings in his face, bruised ribs, abrasions to his wrists and an injury to his left eye. Investigations into the alleged ill-treatment were reportedly dropped in the beginning of 1997.
Ahmet Delibas, of Turkish origin, was allegedly arrested by police officers from the town of Hamm, North-Rhine/Westphalia, in October 1995, on suspicion of involvement in a fight. While sitting handcuffed in the police car, the police officers reportedly hit him several times in the face and one allegedly started strangling him with his hand. Medical examination at a hospital reportedly revealed a fractured left cheekbone, two fractures of the left eye-socket and two fractures of the right eye-socket, requiring two operations. Accusations that Ahmet Delibas resisted arrest have reportedly been withdrawn and the officers were said to have been charged with assault by negligence.[back to the contents]
Greece
By letter 20 June 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted information concerning Mohamed Farhank Amin, an Iranian refugee living in Germany, and an Iranian friend, who were reportedly stopped in a park in Athens on 4 October 1996. Seven or eight police officers allegedly grabbed them by the hair, locked their arms around their backs and beat them on their face, legs and genitals. The beatings allegedly continued at Nea Smyrni police station. Mohamed Farhank Amin was reportedly hospitalized with a broken kneecap as a result. In a reply dated 5 November 1997, the Government informed the Special Rapporteur that Mohamed Farhank Amin was thought to have suffered his injury as a result of falling in the street when attempting to flee.[back to the contents]
Guatemala
By letter of 26 May 1997 the Special Rapporteur referred to the cases of Lucina Cárdenas Ramírez and Otto Leonel Hernández, transmitted in July 1996 and regarding which the Government had indicated the same year that they were being investigated. The Special Rapporteur asked to be informed whether or not this investigation had been concluded and/or any progress had been made with the inquiries. In the same letter the Special Rapporteur transmitted the following cases to the Government.
Luis Alfredo Bonilla Juárez, aged 17, a street child, was reportedly detained on 18 March 1997 in Guatemala City by two uniformed police officers who asked for his identity papers. Not having them, he was reportedly put in the patrol car and beaten. A few minutes later the officers reportedly took him from the vehicle, continuing to beat him in the street, and then left. The non-governmental organization Casa Alianza filed a complaint with the Office for Professional Responsibility of the National Police, which was said to have initiated an investigation.
Roca Eswin el Ruiz Zacarías, Edwin Tulio Enríquez García and Belarmino Gonzàlez de León, workers at the Mi Kwang S.A. factory in Cantón Najarito, Villa Nueva, Department of Guatemala, were reportedly detained on 13 March 1997 by a group of armed men dressed in civilian clothes who had gone to the factory. The detained persons were allegedly taken to the Villa Nueva police station and interrogated for about an hour and a half concerning an alleged theft at the factory a week earlier. One of them was reportedly hit with a rifle butt and the others kicked in the stomach. One of them is also said to have had a plastic bag put over his head. Before being released they were allegedly warned not to talk about what had happened.
Oscar Arturo González Ruiz, aged 34, working on a human rights project co-sponsored by the European Union, was reportedly detained in Quetzaltenango on 9 April 1996 by National Police officers who allegedly stopped him while he was driving his car and put him into a police vehicle. There he was shackled, kicked and beaten, and then driven from one police station to another. He was reportedly later taken to a hospital and kept there for three days because of his physical state and loss of blood. When he made his statement to the judge in hospital, moreover, he reportedly felt intimidated by the presence of two police officers who were watching him the whole time. He was later released.[back to the contents]
Haiti
By letter of 9 June 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government information concerning the following cases.
Jean-Marie Alexandre, arrested in his home in Grande Rivière du Nord on 21 February 1996. He was allegedly subjected to beatings in the police station, said to have injured his right eye and left shoulder. He was held for three days, two of which he allegedly spent handcuffed, without receiving medical attention.
Jean Pierre Santilus, allegedly arrested on 19 March 1996 and taken to the Jacmel police station. For five consecutive days he was allegedly beaten on the chest, back and buttocks during interrogation sessions. A complaint filed with the local investigating judge did not result in any action against the police agents.
Renald Brutus, arrested by police agents on 10 June 1996 at Bainet, in the region of Jacmel. At the local police station he was allegedly kicked and beaten with a stick on the head, legs, buttocks, arms and back. In addition, one of the agents fired a gun next to Brutus's ear and left him tied to a tree in the sun for over an hour. When Renald Brutus's 60-year-old father, Pierre Brutus, went to visit his son at the police station he was also arrested. Four agents reportedly beat Pierre Brutus with a stick on the back and legs and then handcuffed him to a ladder, leaving him hanging for over half an hour. Both were allegedly beaten and interrogated again the next day. The police allegedly put guns in the mouths of two other detainees and urged them to make statements implicating Renald Brutus in drug trafficking.[back to the contents]
Honduras
By letter of 26 May 1997 the Special Rapporteur transmitted the following cases to the Government.
Fany Cerrato, a 16-year-old street child, was reportedly raped by a sergeant of the Public Security Force (FUSEP) on 21 March 1997 at the Mamchen police station in Tegucigalpa. When she was released some hours later Fany Cerrato went to Casa Alianza to report the incident.
Hiran Castellanos, a street child, was detained on 20 March 1997 by two plain-clothes municipal police officers in front of the cathedral in the central park of Tegucigalpa. The police officers accused him of having stolen a lady's chain and took him to the seventh command post for interrogation. Hiran Castellanos was reportedly beaten by Sergeant Matute and Lieutenant Mejía. On 24 March he was brought before the juvenile magistrate, who ordered his release for lack of evidence.
In respect of these two cases, the Government reported on 9 June 1997 that criminal proceedings had been brought against the director of the Comayagua jail as well as the guards involved in the acts of assault, against whom arrest warrants had already been served.
Information transmitted by the Government regarding cases included in previous reports
In the same letter the Special Rapporteur again referred to the cases, transmitted on 8 January 1996, of the juveniles José Ismael Ulloa Flores, Ebert Rolando Boquín Zarabia, Ramón Antonio Fernández Berillos, Edwin Zepeda, Juan Benito Hernández Berillos, Rafael Martínez, Osman Antonio Cáceres Muñoz and Arnoldo Roque Rodríguez, incarcerated in the Comayagua prison for adults. The Special Rapporteur requested information from the Government about the investigation initiated into abuses against these persons. On 6 August 1997 the Government reported that on 20 February 1997 a committal order had been issued against the director of the Comayagua jail and that the case was in the hands of the Supreme Court.
The Special Rapporteur also requested additional information about the case of Martha María Saire, transmitted to the Government on 11 July 1996. The Government replied that on 20 May 1997 the First Court of Appeal of the Department of Francisco Morazán had rendered a sentence of six years' rigorous imprisonment for rape against the two soldiers charged with the offence.
The Special Rapporteur again transmitted to the Government the cases of Andrés Portillo and José Danilo Arriaga Quintanilla, juveniles incarcerated in the San Pedro Sula prison. The Government's reply does not, however, refer to the complaints of ill-treatment which they had allegedly suffered.[back to the contents]
Hungary
By letter of 20 June 1997, the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information concerning the alleged ill-treatment of István Nagy at the Eighth District Police Station in Budapest on 8 May 1996. He was allegedly beaten and kicked all over his body by six or seven officers, and was subsequently treated for three days for chest and spleen injuries and a ruptured eardrum. He reportedly filed a complaint about his treatment.[back to the contents]
India
In a letter of 28 April 1997, the Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received allegations of torture as summarized in the cases below, the first six of which occurred in the Punjab region. On 15 September 1997, the Government replied with respect to two of the persons concerned.
Charanjit Singh, was reportedly arrested in Mahal village, Amritsar, on 27 February 1996 and allegedly interrogated under torture on 28 February, 1 March and 3 March at the police post in Kot Khalsa by officers of the Islamabad police station. The torture was said to include being hung upside down, receiving beatings to the soles of his feet and having his legs pulled apart while logs were rolled down his thighs.
Raman Kumar, aged 17, from the village of Ram Singh New, Bhadson, district of Patiala, was reportedly arrested on 6 July 1995 by senior members of the police, allegedly because his brothers were bringing legal proceedings against a local senior official. At the premises of Central Investigation Agency (CIA) Staff Nabha, he was allegedly hung from the ceiling with his hands tied behind his back, after which petrol was poured on him and he was told that he would be set alight. Then he was taken down from the ceiling, stripped naked and his legs were forced apart until the muscles began to tear and he fainted. In the following days, he was reportedly kicked and beaten repeatedly. When his brothers refused to drop charges against the above-mentioned official, Raman Kumar was allegedly taken to Basantpour police station, beaten and chained to a bed. A case file by him against the police is said to be pending in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
Man Bahadur (son of Dhan Bahadur), Kumb Bahadur and Rajesh (son of Ran Kumar) were reportedly arrested on 1 May 1996 and taken to CIA Staff, sector 20 and sector 26 Chandigarh and sector 34 police station. Man Bahadur was allegedly subjected to torture of the genitals by three named officials, involving electric shocks to his penis, and the slitting of his scrotum resulting in castration. His wrists and legs were also reportedly cut with a blade. The other two detainees were allegedly hung upside down from the ceiling and beaten with rifle butts, causing injuries to their chests and genitals. One of the officials also allegedly placed his shoe into the mouth of Rajesh and urinated down his throat. All three alleged victims were said to have made representations about their treatment to a named Sessions Judge at Burrail jail, but no action was reportedly taken. They are said to have subsequently filed proceedings before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
Gamdur Singh was reportedly detained on 14 November 1995 by the Punjab Railway Police, Sanfrur. He and another detainee, Baghel Singh of Safipur Kalan village, were allegedly interrogated under torture, including administration of electric shocks and being hung upside down while their faces were forced repeatedly into a pit of water. Gamdur Singh was also reportedly beaten on the head with a metal rod and kicked in the chest repeatedly, sustaining two broken ribs. He subsequently died from his injuries, which a post-mortem revealed to number 18, including bruising to the legs and chest, scars to the wrists, elbows, knees and heels and a contusion to the chest. The police reportedly maintained that he had died of a heart attack. No action was allegedly taken in spite of a complaint by his family.
Parakash Singh was reportedly detained in Nabha, district of Patiala, Punjab, on 6 April 1996, for suspected possession of narcotics. He and his wife, Nirmal Kaur, were reportedly brought to CIA premises where Parakash Singh, while naked, allegedly had wooden logs rolled up and down his thighs, while his legs were stretched wide, by four named officers. He was also allegedly hung upside down, hit with wooden sticks and punched until he fainted. Nirmal Kaur then also allegedly had rollers applied to her thighs, while naked, while hot water was poured onto her legs, and was in addition allegedly sexually assaulted. Following the reported recovery of opium by the police, Nirmal Kaur and her daughter, Maninder Kaur (aged 16), were summoned for further questioning on 7 May 1996 when Nirmal Kaur was allegedly stripped naked, slapped, punched and sexually assaulted in front of her daughter. On 9 May, Parakash Singh was reportedly made to walk publicly through the streets by police with his turban removed and his hands and ankles shackled, identified to the crowds as an opium smuggler. He has reportedly filed a petition with the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. In its reply of 15 September 1997, the Government denied that any torture had occurred.
1. Ikechukri Rivu, a Nigerian student at Khalsa College Chandigarh, and a companion were reportedly beaten with wooden sticks and iron bars in Mohali on 15 July 1996. At Phase VII police station Ikechukri Rivu was allegedly beaten with hockey sticks and a flat rubber whip, before being transferred to Phase I police station. There his treatment allegedly included being beaten while naked, being beaten with sticks while hung upside down with his hands tied behind his back, causing him to lose consciousness several times, being threatened with shooting while having a pistol placed into his mouth, being hit in the face with the pistol, and having his penis pulled for a substantial period. Prior to his appearance before the judicial magistrate on charges of drug trafficking, he was reportedly threatened with death should he request a medical examination. On 20 July 1996, a medical examination ordered by the High Court reportedly revealed swelling on the right hand and an inability to flex his fingers, scarring on the upper arm, bruising to the chest, pain and tenderness in the shoulder, scarring to the inner thighs, and pain in the region of the penis and testicles, making walking difficult. His lawyers have reportedly filed a petition in the High Court requesting an independent inquiry.
2. Bimal Kanti Chakma, Kripadhan Chakma (aged 66), Punyadhan Chakma, Purna Kumar Chakma and Sitesh Hajong were reportedly arrested by police at Mudhoimukh, Diyun, Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh on 9 November 1996 following a meeting they had had with a parliamentary committee concerning a threat of forced eviction made to them. At Dayun police station, they were allegedly beaten over the course of five hours. Before being released they were reportedly threatened with further torture should they take any action against the police or meet with any delegation in the future.
3. Shaz Naza, aged 7, was allegedly hit on the head with rifle butts by army troops in Ajar, Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir on 23 May 1996. In spite of medical treatment, she reportedly died of brain oedema on 24 May. She was one of a number of villagers who were said to have been beaten by soldiers in connection with elections. The Government replied that Shaz Naza fell down and was trampled when the arrival of militants caused the crowd to panic, as a result of which she suffered fatal head injuries.
Urgent appeals
1. On 5 February 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Syed Zahoorul Haq, linked to the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, who was reportedly arrested by members of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Srinagar on 22 January 1997. He was said to be held incommunicado at the BSF camp at Karan Nagar in Srinagar without having been brought before a magistrate.
2. On 29 May 1997, and again on 25 July 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted urgent appeals on behalf of Rongthon Kunley Dorji, a 58-year-old Bhutanese national and Chairman of the United Front for Democracy in Bhutan, who was reportedly arrested on 18 April 1997 and was being held at Lampur Sewa Sadan detention centre following a request by the Government of Bhutan for his extradition. Rongthon Kunley Dorji was allegedly subjected to torture in Bhutan in May 1991 when arrested on politically motivated charges, and the Special Rapporteur reported fears that this would recur if he were forcibly returned to Bhutan.
3. On 25 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur made an urgent appeal on behalf of Riyaz Ahmad Gojri, Mahammad Ashraf Dar and Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, activists of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, reportedly arrested on 6 November 1997 by members of the Special Task Force (STF). They were said to be detained at STF headquarters in Srinagar, allegedly incommunicado.
Follow-up to previously transmitted communications
1. On 25 March 1996 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf of some 180 Bhutanese refugees who had been arrested in West Bengal on 19 March 1996, to which the Government replied on 11 April 1996 that apprehension as to their ill-treatment in custody was unwarranted. According to reports received on 4 December 1996 from the source of the original information, 15 of the detained refugees were allegedly beaten with lathis by jail guards at Jalpaiguri jail on 22 April 1996, with three of these persons suffering injury, while similar treatment was allegedly inflicted on 90 Bhutanese refugees detained at Berhampur central jail on 3 May, where at least 50 suffered injuries, 12 of them serious, and 2 persons were hospitalized. The beatings were said to have occurred when the detainees had tried to lodge a complaint about the alleged beating of two of them.
2. The source also reported a further incident involving Bhutanese refugees which it alleged to have occurred on 19 June 1996 when some 100 persons were allegedly beaten with lathis by about 30 officers of the West Bengal police during a funeral march at the bridge at Mahanda on the border between Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts. The following marchers reportedly had to be hospitalized as a result of the beatings: Ram Bahadur Rai, who was allegedly hit on the head; Gyanu Kumari Koirala, who suffered a dislocated shoulder; and Tek Bir Chhetri, Ram Bhandari and Chandra Bahadur Chuwan, who had suspected internal injuries and shock.[back to the contents]
Indonesia
1. In a letter of 2 July 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted allegations on the following cases, to which the Government replied on 28 October 1997.
2. Amin Baharuddin, a university student in Jakarta, reportedly arrested on 4 June 1996, accused of wounding a policeman with a stone. He was allegedly beaten during his arrest and dragged for about 100 metres. He was allegedly further beaten and kicked in custody, as well as reportedly denied medical treatment until his lawyer intervened. The Government confirmed that he was forcibly arrested, but did not address the allegation of ill-treatment.
3. Hendrik Dikson Sirait, a student activist from Jakarta, reportedly arrested on 1 August 1996 during a peaceful demonstration. He was held incommunicado for five days in military custody at the Bakorstanas facility. He was allegedly interrogated under torture during two sessions, each lasting 15 hours. The torture was said to include burnings with cigarette butts on three occasions, administration of electric shocks to his hands and ears, and beatings. The Government confirmed the arrest, though on a different date, but denied the allegation of torture and other ill-treatment, and the incommunicado nature of the detention.
4. Sugianto, an Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) member, reportedly arrested on 27 July 1996 and taken to Koramil Senen, where police officers allegedly beat him with fists, clubs and chairs, kicked him and stamped upon his hands. He was also allegedly immersed in a pond of Indonesian catfish (lele), where he suffered bites to his genitals. He was released on 14 August 1996. The Government confirmed that he was detained for questioning, but denied that he had been tortured or ill-treated while in custody.
5. Sugeng, reportedly arrested near Senen on 27 July 1996. He was taken to Jakarta Pusat police station, where police allegedly beat him with clubs on the back and legs, stapled his ears and knocked out three teeth until he confessed to a charge he denies. He was transferred to Jakarta metropolitan police headquarters on 1 August and, two weeks later, was unable to walk normally as a result of the alleged torture. The Government confirmed that he was detained for questioning, but denied that he had been tortured or ill-treated while in custody.
6. Mohammad Ali, Wisnu Agung, Hary Kurniawan, Eko Orastowo and Johanes Librayanto, students from different universities, reportedly arrested during a demonstration at Gajah Mada University on 2 August 1997. They were taken to Yogyakarta police command and allegedly tortured into signing a confession that they were members of the People's Democratic Party (PRD). Upon their release they were seen to have sustained cuts and bruises on their faces, missing teeth and bloodstains on their clothes. The Government confirmed that they were detained for questioning, but denied that they had been tortured or ill-treated while in custody.
1. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted information on the following individual cases which reportedly occurred in East Timor.
2. Joao Antonio Gomes da Costa, the 17-year-old son of East Timorese leader Ma'Huno, allegedly beaten severely by 10 to 15 soldiers at his home in Los Palos during military operations on or about 30 March 1996. He was said to have sustained a number of fractures and head injuries and to have lapsed into a coma. The Government replied that an investigation was under way to establish the facts.
3. Agusto, reportedly arrested on 30 July 1996 at his home in Kaikasako by two members of District Military Headquarters (KODIM) from Liquica. He was allegedly beaten on the head with gun butts, then detained for five days at KODIM Liquica, where he was reportedly beaten and food withheld. He was subsequently transferred to the POLRES (police resort) in Liquica, where he was allegedly burned with cigarettes and matches and his feet were crushed under the legs of a table. The Government replied that a person by the name of Agustino Soares had indeed been arrested, but was later released due to lack of evidence. The allegations of torture and other ill-treatment were not addressed.
4. Inacio Nelson Guterres Amaral, Manecas Gomes and Luis Rangel, reportedly detained by soldiers, including two commanding officers, near the hamlet of Bui-Karin in Bahalara-Uain, Viqueque district on 12 August 1996. They were allegedly beaten with rifle butts, taken to military post number 17 in Bui-Karin and subsequently to the headquarters of Territorial Battalion 410 in Betice, where they were reportedly subjected to further ill-treatment. Luis Rangel was said to have suffered broken ribs and Inacio Nelson Guterres Amaral a broken arm. The Government confirmed the temporary detention of three persons named Nelson Jesus Amaral Gueterres, Manuel or Maneas Gomes and Lois Ranigel, but denied that they had been tortured or otherwise ill-treated.
5. Vasco Pinto, Antonio de Carvalho, Inacio Tilman, Afonso Cipriano, Kai-Rubik and another person also named Kai-Rubik, reportedly detained on 12 August 1996 by military personnel in Bui-Karin, Bahalara-Uain, Viqueque district. They were allegedly subjected to torture over the course of five days, said to include beatings on the back with sticks, punches, slaps in the face, mouth and stomach, beatings with gun butts all over the body and face, and burnings with cigarettes. The Government did not know of anyone named Afonso Cipriano, but confirmed the temporary detention of persons named Basco Pinto, Antonio da Costa, Inacio Felona, Kai-Rubik alias Armindo Maia and Kai-Rubik alias Mr. Butkevich, denying any allegations of torture or other ill-treatment.
6. Joao Pinto, reportedly interrogated by soldiers in Bui-Karin, Bahalara-Uain, Viqueque district on 16 and 17 August 1996. On 17 August, he was allegedly kicked four times and punched in the face by a vice-commander from Battalion 410 and beaten severely by soldiers, causing him to lose consciousness. The Government replied that it had no knowledge of this person.
7. Aliança Soares dos Santos (female), reportedly detained, along with seven members of her family, in Atabae, Bobonaro district on 5 December 1996. All of the family members were allegedly beaten and Aliança was allegedly tied up, threatened with a knife and taken to KORAMIL (Sub-District Military Command) in Ermera. She was allegedly subjected to torture, including rape by an Indonesian Armed Forces soldier, who threatened to kill her if she reported the rape. She was subsequently transferred to a Rajawali batallion camp at Luli Rema and allegedly twice raped by a sergeant. She was released on 16 December 1996. The Government confirmed that she had been temporarily arrested, though on a different date, but said that there was no evidence that she had been raped.
8. Mateus Gomes, a teacher in Loimea village in Atsabe, reportedly arrested on 25 December 1996 by members of the Rajawali battalion, accused of having provided food to guerrillas. At a military camp he was allegedly kicked, punched, beaten with a rifle butt and subjected to electric shocks. The Government replied that an investigation was still under way.
Information received from the Government with respect to cases mentioned in previous reports
1. Marsinah, a labour activist, was allegedly tortured and killed in Eastern Java in May 1993. In 1996 the Government had given information on proceedings taken in connection with the killing. The Special Rapporteur asked to be kept informed of the results and any developments in the investigations and court proceedings mentioned, including the identity of the officers charged and the nature of the charges brought against them. On 28 October 1997, the Government replied that the case against the officers had been closed due to lack of evidence, but that efforts were continuing to find the culprits and it was hoped that the case would be reopened in the near future.
2. Hendrique Belmiro da Costa was allegedly tortured by military officials in Dili, East Timor, in November 1994. In 1996 the Government had replied that he was in detention between 1984 and 1989, but had not been arrested since then. According to a communication from the source of the information on 2 May 1997, he was again arrested on 4 December 1994 and apparently questioned at the military intelligence centre, STI (Satuan Tugas Intelijen) in Dili. He was allegedly subjected to electric shocks through his handcuffs and severely beaten, resulting in a concussion and his requiring seven stitches to his head. A lawyer visiting him in police custody in April 1995 was said to have observed marks of his torture. A trial against him on charges related to armed rebellion allegedly began in August, but was reported to have been postponed because of his poor health, so that the sentence was finally passed in December 1995. The source of the information asserts that his trial and sentencing were covered in both the Indonesian and foreign press. The Government, on 28 October 1997, did not deny the arrest and trial of Hendrique Belmiro da Costa, but replied that he was never subjected to torture, and that the source of the allegation was merely exploiting the fact of his very poor health.
3. Sebastiao Lelo Ati and Joao Beli were reportedly arrested and tortured by members of the Indonesian armed forces on 14 July 1996 in the village of Obulo, East Timor. On 28 October 1997, the Government replied that the two individuals could not be traced, and that the East Timor authorities had denied that any arrests were made in Obulo on the date mentioned.
4. Saturlina da Costa, from Bacau, was allegedly raped by two officers while in police custody in August 1994. In October 1994 her family submitted an appeal to the police asking for an inquiry. Although it is believed that two police officers were questioned in relation to the alleged incident, East Timor's police chief later denied the allegations. On 28 October 1997, the Government replied that an investigation had been conducted into the alleged rape which concluded that the officers were not guilty.
Urgent appeals sent and replies received
1. The Special Rapporteur transmitted the 14 urgent appeals which follow, 11 concerning East Timor, on the dates mentioned in brackets. The Government replied to 11 of the appeals.
2. Bimo Petrus, Hanni, and Ling, student political activists, were reportedly arrested by police in Rambutan, Jakarta on 6 March 1997. They were said to be held incommunicado in South Jakarta Police Resort (14 March 1997). In May 1997, the Government replied that the suspects had indeed been arrested, but that their rights were being respected, and that it would provide further information of developments if required.
3. Thirty-two named students were reportedly detained during political demonstrations in Yogyakarta, Central Java, on 1 and 2 April 1997. Some of them were reportedly initially taken to Sleman District Military Command Centre, but were then said to be held at police headquarters (8 April 1997). In September 1997, the Government replied that a thorough investigation had confirmed that the 32 students were temporarily detained, and released within 24 hours, during which time they were not subjected to any torture or ill-treatment.
4. Yulius Petege, Yahya Pigome and Ben Kotouki were among a larger group of members of the Ekari tribe reportedly arrested on 22 August 1997 in the context of clashes between local people and security forces in the Timika area of Irian Jaya. They were reportedly beaten, then taken away in buses to an unknown destination (1 September 1997).
5. The following urgent appeals concern, in particular, the territory of East Timor.
6. Eight persons from Buibau, in the Bacau district, were allegedly detained in November 1996 in connection with the killing of a military commander in the Indonesian armed forces. They were identified as: Evaristo Ximenes, Aniceto Ximenes, Armindo do Rosario, Manuel, Quintino Imanuel de Cristo, Augusto, Marcelino and Cosme. At least some of the detainees were said to be held at a special army unit facility in Baucau (20 December 1996). The Government replied on 24 February that all of these persons were indeed in custody, and awaiting trial on criminal charges. It stated that the first five had admitted to direct involvement in the killing, while Augusto, Marcelino and Cosme were suspected of creating violent disturbances. None were being held at the cited facility in Baucau, as this place has never existed.
7. Baltasar SH Belo, Gregorio Sequira Bento (aged 16), Jose Maria Geronimo, João Budiono C. Moraes, Luis Afonso, Abel Fernandes, Bobby Xavier and Armando C. Soares were reportedly arrested between 26 and 30 December 1996 in the aftermath of violent incidents in Dili, East Timor, on 24 December 1996 (10 January 1997). On 14 February, the Government acknowledged the detention of four persons named Baltasar Hendiques Sebastiao, Gregorio Jeronimo Sequera Bento, Jose Maria Jeronimo and João Budiono da Costa Monis as a result of the violent events in Dili, and gave assurance that they were being treated humanely. The other four names were not known to the police.
8. About 109 persons, some of whom were named, were reportedly arrested in the Viqueque district of East Timor following disturbances between 7 and 11 February 1997, and were said to be held at the District Military Command post in Viqueque (17 February 1997). On 3 March, the Government replied that the police had exercised care during the incident, and that 105 of the persons arrested had already been released. The Government did not specify if those remaining in custody were among those named in the allegation, but gave assurances that they would in any case be treated humanely.
9. About 45 East Timorese youths were reportedly arrested in Dili on 23 March 1997, during a peaceful demonstration outside the hotel where the Special Representative of the Secretary-General was staying. According to the reports, there was a confrontation between demonstrators and security forces resulting in injuries (27 March 1997). In April 1997, the Government replied that the demonstration had been far from peaceful, and that the injuries had been largely self-inflicted by the demonstrators through their own actions. It confirmed that 45 persons had been detained, but said that some had since been released due to lack of evidence, and that their rights were being respected.
10. Felisberto Maria dos Santos, Domingos Larangguira, Jose Sobral and Marcelino de Fatima dos Santos were reportedly arrested on 30 March 1997 in Liquisa, East Timor, on suspicion of links with the armed opposition group Falintil, and their subsequent whereabouts were unknown (24 April 1997). The Government replied in an undated letter that these persons had never been arrested or detained, and were leading normal lives as free citizens.
11. Joaquim Moreira, David Dias Ximenes, Joao Anegela, Francisco Magno, and Jose Acacio were reportedly arrested, all but one of whom allegedly in Dili, East Timor, around 31 May 1997, in connection with an attack on Mobile Police Headquarters on 28 May. Joaquim Moreira was said to have been arrested on 17 May 1997 by officers from the Military Intelligence Unit (STI) (3 June 1997). The Government confirmed on 15 July 1997 that David Dias Ximenes, Francisco Magno and Jose Acacio were arrested on 31 May 1997 on suspicion of involvement in the above-mentioned attack. It stated that they had admitted this involvement during questioning and were currently in the custody of the Dili police, where they were being treated humanely. No records were found attesting to the arrest of Joaquim Moreira and Jose Acacio during May or June 1997.
1. Joaquim Carvalho Araujo, Aleixo (aged 65), Marcos Exposto and Domingos Quintao were reportedly arrested on 9 June 1997 in Aileu district, East Timor, by soldiers from the Aileu District Military Command, allegedly in connection with recent attacks by Falintil. The detainees were reported to be held incommunicado at Command headquarters (16 June 1997). The Government replied on 15 July 1997 that no records had been found attesting either to the arrest or even the existence of the above-mentioned persons.
2. Virgilio dos Santos Pinto, Cancio da Costa and Gil Fernandes were reportedly arrested on or around 14 June 1997 by members of the Special Forces, Kopassus, during house-to-house searches in the village of Soru, near Los Palos, East Timor, and were said to be held in the Kopassus detention centre in Los Palos (20 June 1997). The Government replied in September 1997 that according to the East Timorese authorities, no arrests occurred on or around the stated date, and no traces have been found in Los Palos of the persons named.
3. Jose Antonio Belo and Guilherme dos Santos were among five persons reportedly arrested by military personnel on 25 June 1997 in Kaibada, near Baucau, East Timor, following a confrontation between the Indonesian Armed Forces and Falintil, and whose whereabouts were unknown (27 June 1997). In September 1997, the Government confirmed the arrest of these two persons and four others in the circumstances stated above. According to the Government, they were awaiting trial at the Baucau police station, and their rights were being fully respected.
4. Constancio dos Santos, Jojo dos Santos, Francisco Caldeira and Eduardo (possibly called Jose Ximenes) were believed to be detained in Dili, East Timor, as well as Joaquim Santana, Ivo Miranda, Domingos Natalino Coelho da Silva, Fernando Lebre and Nuno dos Santos, who were believed to be detained in Semarang. All were reportedly arrested in September 1997 on suspicion of possession of explosives. At least eight of them had reportedly been subjected to ill-treatment and torture, including electric shocks. Constancio dos Santos was said to have had two fingers severed (15 October 1997).
1. Antonio Viegas, Albino Barros, Natalina de Araujo and at least two unnamed others, all students, were reportedly shot and wounded in a confrontation with Indonesian police in Dili, East Timor, on 14 November 1997. Students were reported to have thrown stones at members of the security forces, prompting the police to start firing. One of the students, suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound sustained during the firing, was said to have been forcibly removed from a vehicle of the International Committee of the Red Cross by police and severely beaten before being taken away. All five were reportedly taken to the Wirahusada military hospital in Dili where they were believed to be in custody, and allegedly denied access to humanitarian and legal assistance (17 November 1997).[back to the contents]
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
1. On 29 January 1997, the Special Rapporteur, in conjunction with the Special Representative on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Hojjatoleslam val Muslimin Sheikh Mohammad Amin Ghafoori, his wife, and Hojjatoleslam val Muslimin Sayed Hossein Fali, who were reportedly arrested in Qom around 14 January 1997 and whose whereabouts were unknown. Both of the men were said to be followers of the Grand Ayatollah Shirazi.
2. On 18 August 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf of several hundred political prisoners in Shiraz, Isfahan, Ahwaz and Tehran, who had been on hunger strike since 7 June in protest against their conditions of detention. Six of them, namely Fataneh Alipoor, Kamran Yazdani, Hamidreza Dadashi, Mehrdad Vosooghi, Jafar Abbassi and Abdolreza Abedi, had already died.
3. On 10 October 1997, the Special Rapporteur, in conjunction with the Special Representative on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Mohammad Ali Ghasemi, from Tehran, whose sentence for conviction of illegitimate relationships with three women and illegal drug use reportedly included subjection to 170 lashes.[back to the contents]
Israel
1. By letter dated 11 June 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government the cases summarized in the paragraphs below.
2. Musa Masharqeh, an asthma sufferer, was reportedly arrested on 7 March 1995 and detained in Ramallah prison. He was reportedly made to wear dark welders' glasses to disorient him; subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation; held in solitary confinement; subjected to shabeh (forced to remain in uncomfortable positions for long periods); exposed to cold temperatures; subjected to violent shaking several times; and threatened with death or rape of family members.
3. Daher Muhammad Salah Abu Mayaleh was reportedly arrested on 15 February 1996 and detained in Ashkelon prison. He was allegedly shaken violently, as a result of which he lost consciousness for five hours. After having been given some ammoniac to smell, he was reportedly further interrogated and tortured over the course of the next 30 days, including further violent shaking and sleep deprivation while seated on a low bench.
4. Bashar Tarabieh, a consultant for the United States-based organization Human Rights Watch and a United States resident, was reportedly arrested on 19 August 1996 and taken to Jalameh prison near Haifa. He was allegedly hooded, tied to a chair with his hands and feet bound, forced to sit for hours in contorted positions and denied regular meals. During interrogation, he was reportedly questioned about his work for Human Rights Watch.
1. Azam Aarda was reportedly arrested on 16 October 1996 and detained at Jalameh/Qishon prison. He was allegedly forced to sit handcuffed and hooded in painful and contorted positions, subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation and beaten over the course of three weeks.
2. Iyad Abu Hamdieh was reportedly arrested on 3 April 1997 on suspicion of connections with Hamas and interrogated at Shikmah prison. He was allegedly forced to squat, despite suffering from rheumatism in his legs, kicked repeatedly in the legs, subjected to violent shaking, and held in shabeh next to a cold air conditioner.
3. Ayman Kafishah was reportedly detained in Shikmah prison on 5 April 1997. Several interrogators allegedly tortured him during his first 36 hours of detention. The forms of torture used were said to include: violent shaking; tightening the cuffs on his wrists thereby cutting off the blood flow; having his hands struck against a table; being forced to squat; being forced to sit in painful and contorted positions for prolonged periods; being forced to sit through the night next to an air conditioner; being deprived of sleep; being subjected to threats that his family members would be arrested and ill-treated; and being prevented from using the toilet.
Urgent appeals transmitted and replies received
1. The Special Rapporteur made urgent appeals, on the dates mentioned in brackets, on behalf of the following persons reportedly detained at al-Khiam detention centre in southern Lebanon: Ahmad Kamil Sa'id, a secondary school student from South Lebanon, reportedly arrested by the Israeli Defence Force on 2 June 1997 and held incommunicado (19 June 1997); Ghassan Ali Eisa, Huda Assad Alla Hamada, Khalil Karnaib, Suleiman Karnaib and Haydar Ali Eissa, allegedly arrested in the village of Maron al-Ross by the South Lebanon Army in July 1997; Huda Hamada, an epilepsy sufferer, was said to have been denied access to medication (22 August 1997); 'Abbas Muhammad 'Atiya, Muhammad Salim Qataih, Mustafa Jawad Tubeh and Qasem Lutfi 'Assaf, reportedly arrested on 2 October 1997 by Israeli forces searching the village of Arnum, South Lebanon (7 October 1997); Taysir Dabaja, Na'ima Faysel Jaber, Khaled Idris, Bisam 'Ali Hamdeh, Bilal Ibrahim al-Ashqar, Bilal Kayed Faraj, Mazen 'Abdallah, all students under the age of 16, and Zeinab Naser, reportedly arrested between 10 and 14 October 1997 by Israeli forces in their villages situated in Israel's "security zone" in southern Lebanon (16 October 1997).
2. Ali 'Abd al-Nabi 'Atiya, aged 17, reportedly arrested on 22 October 1997, Muhammad Hassan Hasshem, aged 52, Khalil Hassan Hashem, Akram Ba'Ibeki, Yahiya al-Asmar, Fahd Rimal, Yahiya 'Abbud, Baahiya Ba'Ibeki (female) and Usama Nur al-Din, all reportedly arrested between 22 and 26 November 1997 (2 December 1997); Almaza Ibrahim (female), Nadim Husayn Sa'b, and 'Atef Hassan Hashem, allegedly arrested on 26 and 28 November 1997 (4 December 1997). In the last two urgent appeals the Special Rapporteur also raised reports that visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross or detainees' relatives had been prohibited at al-Khiam detention centre since 10 September 1997, heightening concern for the detainees' well-being.
3. By letters dated 23 September and 21 October 1997, the Government responded to the first three urgent appeals denying any responsibility for al-Khiam detention centre which, it stated, is controlled by the South Lebanon Army. It added that the centre had been visited by the International Committee of the Red Cross on a regular basis. The Government further stated that the presence of the Israeli Defence Forces in the zone is limited and restricted to specific and defined security objectives and could, as a consequence, not bear any other responsibility for the zone and matters happening within it.
4. On 21 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur made an urgent appeal on behalf of Ashraf Rafiq Salim Nasrallah, reportedly arrested on 1 November 1997 and detained at Shikma (Ashkelon) prison, where he had allegedly been tortured by General Security Service (GSS) interrogators. He was said to have been subject to shabeh, obliged to sit on a small chair 30 cm high with his hands and legs shackled and a sack over his head, and obliged to squat repeatedly in "frog" position. Loud music was reportedly played continuously. A petition filed with the Israeli High Court by his lawyer was reportedly withdrawn on the basis of assurances given by the Government that no physical force would be used. On 18 November, the authorities allegedly prohibited further visits from his lawyer, a decision which was upheld by the High Court. On 19 November, a new petition against the use of force by the GSS was reportedly submitted to the High Court.
Information received from the Government on cases appearing in previous reports
1. On 26 December 1996 the Government replied to the cases of Muhammad 'Abd al-'Aziz Hamdan and Khader Mubarak, who were allegedly subjected to physical pressure during interrogation said to have been allowed by Israeli Supreme Court rulings (see E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.1, paras 272 and 273). In its reply, to which the Supreme Court rulings were attached, the Government stated that the Court had not granted the General Security Service a general mandate to use physical pressure. In the case of Muhammad 'Abd al-'Aziz Hamdan, the Government referred in particular to the Court's statement that a clear suspicion of the possession of extremely vital information, the immediate disclosure of which would prevent a terrible disaster, would save human lives and would prevent the most serious terrorist attacks, justified the cancelling of the interim injunction prohibiting the use of physical pressure. This decision was, however, not tantamount to permission to use interrogation methods which were against the law, the Court stated. The Government further stated that the Court, with the agreement of the General Security Service, had issued another injunction prohibiting the use of physical pressure in the interrogation of Mr. Hamdan. In the case of Khader Mubarak, the Government referred in particular to the Court's statement that it had been assured that the handcuffing of the petitioner was not for the purpose of interrogation and that the hands of the interrogatee were not stretched behind him and that all steps were taken to ensure that, as much as possible, the handcuffs did not press or rub the wrists of the interrogatee, but that handcuffing as described by the petitioner was prohibited. The Government further assured the Special Rapporteur that no detainee would be subject to torture at the hands of Israeli officials.
1. In December 1996, the Government also replied to the case of Fu'ad Shamasneh who had allegedly been hooded with a sack, deprived of sleep, kept in a painful position and whose arm had reportedly been dislocated while in detention (see E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.1, para. 269). In its reply, the Government stated that the Department for Investigations of the Police in the Ministry of Justice had investigated the complaints. On the basis of the results of the investigation, which included interviews with the interrogators, Mr. Shamasneh himself, and the examination of relevant detention records, the Government stated that there was no indication that Mr. Shamasneh suffered any injury and that the findings did not justify any steps against the interrogators.
2. In February 1997, the Government replied to the case of Muhannad Abu Rumi who was allegedly kept in incommunicado detention in the Moscobiyyah police detention centre in Jerusalem following his arrest in Hebron on 18 November 1996 (see E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.1, para. 274). In its reply, the Government confirmed his arrest which, it stated, had taken place on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities of the Islamic Jihad. Regarding his access to legal counsel, the Government stated that his petition had been dismissed by the Supreme Court which was satisfied that the factual and legal circumstances of the case justified the postponement of Abu Rumi's meeting with his lawyer in the interests of the investigation. He was permitted to meet his lawyer after 11 December 1996. The Court had also noted the statement by the attorney for the General Security Services that his interrogation was carried out without the use of physical pressure. He was tried, convicted and sentenced by the military court of Hebron while being represented by counsel of his choice.
3. By letters dated 20 January and 21 February 1997 the Government responded to the case of Dr. George Kalim Nakd, who was reportedly arrested on 1 November 1996 by the South Lebanon Army and detained at al-Khiam detention centre in southern Lebanon (see E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.1, para. 271). In its reply, the Government stated that al-Khiam detention centre is controlled by the South Lebanese Army and that neither the Israeli army nor the Israeli General Security Service conduct investigations at al-Khiam, nor are they responsible for what occurs in the centre. It added that representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross had visited al-Khiam and also noted the release of Mr. Nakd as of 23 January 1996.[back to the contents]
Kenya
1. In a letter of 17 February 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government the following cases.
2. Suba Churchill Mechack, chairman of the non-registered Kenya Universities Student Organization (KUSO), reportedly arrested on 16 November 1995 on Egerton University premises, Nakuru district. Between the date of his arrest and 22 November 1995, he is said to have been moved about between a number of police stations and reportedly questioned under torture on each occasion about alleged links with the February Eighteenth Resistance Army. The torture he is alleged to have suffered included having his knees hit with a hammer, having his fingers twisted with an open spanner, having his toenails pulled with pliers, and having a paper pin inserted into his thumbnail. A medical examination ordered by the Chief Magistrate's Court is said to have revealed that he had sustained injuries to his kidneys.
1. Jane Wanbui and Virginia Nyambura Wambui (aged 17), among four persons reportedly arrested in Kikuyu township on 17 December 1995 and allegedly tortured by police officers at Kiambu police station. Jane Wambui, who was five months' pregnant, miscarried after a senior officer allegedly kicked her repeatedly in the stomach. Virginia Nyambura Wambui was hospitalized after allegedly being whipped, kicked, beaten with sticks and having salt put into her vagina. Medical reports produced in court were said to have supported the allegations of torture. In July 1996 Kiambu Senior Resident Magistrate Margaret Wachira reportedly acquitted the four defendants on the grounds that they had been tortured.
2. Henry Mutua M'Aritho, reportedly arrested by administrative policemen in Nyambene district on 2 May 1996, died in custody three days later. During his detention he was allegedly whipped, slapped, kicked and beaten on at least three occasions and was also reported to have received burns to his legs.
3. Amodoi Achakar Anamilem, reportedly arrested in Lokichar, Turkana district, on 8 July 1996 after being mistaken for a robber. He was allegedly beaten in public, then beaten in a disused building and again at the Lokichar Administration police camp. The beatings were said to have included blows all over his body and beatings with a stick, gun butts and kicks. The police also allegedly attempted to strangle him with his own beads. He reportedly died before reaching the police station and, although his injuries were noted at the time, a subsequent autopsy could not establish the cause of death because the coolers in the mortuary had not been functioning. The results of an investigation ordered by the Attorney-General in August 1996 were unknown, though the officers alleged to be responsible reportedly remained on duty.
Urgent appeals
1. On 26 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Patrick Wangamati, a Kenyan who had been a political refugee in Ghana for three years, and was reportedly arrested upon his arrival at Nairobi airport on 6 October 1997. Following a period at Buru Buru police station in Nairobi and interrogation at the Police Criminal Investigation department headquarters, he was allegedly being held in incommunicado detention at an undisclosed location.[back to the contents]
Kuwait
1. On 8 April 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Muhammad Mirza, 'Abd al-Jalil al Shuwaikh, Shaikh 'Abd al-Nabi al-Sitrawi, Rashed 'Abdullah Rashed, 'Adel al-Hayki, 'Ali al-Hayki, Hussain al-Hayki, Muhammad al-Hayki and 'Issa al-Hayki, who were among 11 Bahraini nationals reportedly detained in Kuwait City on 26 March 1997. They were said to be under threat of deportation to Bahrain where they might be subjected to torture or other ill-treatment. The Government replied on 7 July 1997 that the persons in question remained in Kuwait and were being tried under Kuwaiti law.[back to the contents]
Malaysia
1. On 3 July 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal in connection with the reported arrest on 25 June 1997 of some 42 members of the Dayak Iban indigenous community from the state of Sarawak. They allegedly suffered injuries as a consequence of being beaten, kicked and assaulted with machine guns by police officers. On 31 October 1997, the Government confirmed the arrest of persons from the Iban tribe but denied that any serious injuries had resulted.[back to the contents]
Maldives
1. On 3 February 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf of Mohamed Shaheeb, who was reportedly arrested on 20 January 1997 and taken to Dhooinidhoo detention centre.
2. On 26 November 1997, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Ismail Saadiq who had reportedly been in detention in Dhoonidhoo prison or under house arrest in Male' for various periods since July 1996 when he was allegedly charged with business irregularities. He was initially reportedly subjected to solitary confinement, long periods of sleep deprivation and denial of adequate food and medicine. He was said to suffer from serious health problems for which he was allegedly allowed to receive only incomplete treatment, in spite of reported recommendations that he receive treatment abroad. On 4 August 1997 he was transferred to house arrest, apparently incommunicado.[back to the contents]
Mauritania
1. On 29 January 1997, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government on behalf of Messoud Ould Boulkheir, a member of the Action for Change opposition party, Mohammed H. Ould Ismael, Secretary-General of the People's Progressive Alliance (APP), Abdallahi Ould Iyahi, a member of the APP, Hamoud Ould Abdi, a member of the Democratic Republican Party and El Kory Ould Hmeity, former Secretary-General of the Union of Workers of Mauritania, who were allegedly arrested during the night of 22 January 1997 at Nouakchott, accused of having had contacts of a political nature with the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. It is said that they were taken to the Directorate-General of the National Security Service where they were questioned. Their families and lawyers were apparently denied any contact with them.[back to the contents]
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