E/CN.4/2001/66 page 33 subsequently transferred to a solitary confinement cell in Al-Qala’a prison. There, security officials reportedly hung his brother from the ceiling (al-falqa method) and tortured him in front of him. After several weeks, he was taken to the State security court. There Abdullah Naser Mohammed Abdullah Al-Tooq is said to have given his nails, which had been removed under torture, to his lawyer, who in turn presented them to the court and stated during the trial that his client’s confessions had been extracted under torture. The judge is said to have refused to listen to the lawyer. On 26 June 1996, Abdullah Naser Mohammed Abdullah Al-Tooq was said to have been sentenced to life imprisonment. On the next day, he and two other detainees, Akeel Naji and Mohammed Ahmed Al-Mukhtar, were reportedly taken to an ironsmith, where their feet were placed in iron cuffs. On 25 August 1996, his hand and foot cuffs were reportedly removed. Urgent appeals and replies received 122. On 12 January 2000, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Halima Hassan Sdeif Ahmed, who had been beaten at the time of arrest at her home on 16 December 1999. She was allegedly held incommunicado at Issa Town Detention Centre in conditions described as “miserable”. Fatima Salman Maki Salman and Asia Abdul Aziz Ismael, who were detained with her, are believed to have been ill-treated in order to extract a confession concerning Halima Hassan Sdeif Ahmed. 123. By letter dated 6 April 2000, the Government indicated that Halima Hassan Sdeif Ahmed had been arrested twice by the regular police in the act of committing offences likely to cause a breach of the peace. She was then detained by order of an ordinary court, which eventually released her on bail. The Government denied the allegation of ill-treatment. 124. On 23 February 2000, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Seyyed Jalal Alawi Ahmed, who had reportedly been arrested by the security forces on 16 February 2000. When his family reportedly enquired about him at Budaya police station, they were allegedly told that nothing was known of him as he had reportedly been arrested by officers of the “Isa Town” police station. He is believed to have been arrested in connection with his university activities. 125. The Special Rapporteur also intervened on behalf of Hassan Al Saqq’ai, Zuhair Al Sahir, Seyyed Hussain, Hussain Darwish and Seyed Hassan Adnan, who had reportedly been arrested in the Daih and Karzakan areas on 14 February 2000 and were believed to have been taken to Al’Khamis police station. No reason for their arrest was said to have been given. 126. By letter dated 6 April 2000, the Government indicated that the allegations that the above-mentioned persons were at risk of torture were entirely untrue. It gave further information on Syyed Jalal Alawi Ahmeed (real name: Sayedd Jalal Alawi Ahmed Fadhal), arrested on 16 February 2000, and Hassan Al-Saqq’ai (real name: Hassan Abdu Ali Ali Al-Sakkae) and Zuhair Al-Sahir (real name: Zuhair Jassim Ahmed Mehdi), arrested on 13 February 2000. All three were said to remain in custody in accordance with the due process of the law. They were