E/CN.4/2000/9 page 68 327. Camille Kissakoula is said to have died in a police cell at Kinkala in Pool on 8 August 1998 because of the beating he received. He reportedly suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and deep back wounds. 328. Jean-Paul Tsoumou, a customs inspector, is said to have died on 24 November 1998 after being beaten so violently that his pancreas was affected. He was allegedly arrested for corruption in October 1998 in Pointe-Noire by members of the security forces. 329. Ngoma Dikamona and Igor Mayetely were reportedly beaten violently by members of the security forces who were pursuing Ninja fighters in Kingouari, on the outskirts of Brazzaville, in October 1998. Other civilians, including Jean Kimounga and Pacôme Tchakaka, were allegedly injured. 330. By letter dated 11 November 1999, the Government indicated that not only was the Head of State committed to the battle against torture, but also, that any act of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment was prohibited under article 8 of the Constitution of 24 October 1997. It emphasized that no one had yet appealed to the Congolese courts regarding the events outlined above, even though the country had legislation offering numerous guarantees of human rights. Specifically, the Government stressed the fact that under articles 28 and 29 of the Constitution, the competent courts were entitled to rule on any violations of fundamental rights and to take steps to repair the damage caused by such violations. 331. The Government also pointed out that a number of violations had in fact been committed by members of the militias that had run rampant during the period of tension and instability of the war in 1997 and in the armed attacks by militias in December 1998 and early 1999. 332. Lastly, the Government informed the Special Rapporteur that the Republic of the Congo has recently begun the procedure for acceding to the Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Cuba Regular communications and replies received 333. By letter dated 12 October 1999, the Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received information on prison conditions that pointed to serious deficiencies in the treatment of prisoners which were especially grave in area of medical care, in terms both of lack of resources and of obstruction by the authorities of the work of physicians. Information was given about the resurgence in military camps of elements of the so-called military units for the promotion of production. Specifically, complaints have been received about precarious conditions in four units of the Youth Labour Army in Havana province; in the prison of Las Grimas and the labour camp of Minint in Placetas, Villa Clara province; in Matanera prison in Agüica, Colón; in the provincial prison at Holgín; and in Boniato penitentiary in Santiago de Cuba. 334. Complaints have been receiving regarding the new structure of the provincial prison at Guantanamo. Soldiers (whose names are known to the Special Rapporteur) were identified as being responsible for the ill-treatment, by means of punishment cells, insufficient and badly prepared food, lack of medication