E/CN.4/2001/66 page 12 III. INFORMATION REVIEWED BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR WITH RESPECT TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES 16. During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur sent 66 letters to 60 countries on behalf of about 650 individuals and 28 groups involving about 2,250 persons. About 125 were known to be women and 50 were known to be minors. Together with individual cases, the Special Rapporteur also transmitted to Governments 19 allegations of a more general nature. The Special Rapporteur also sent 35 letters reminding the Governments of the following countries of a number of cases that had been transmitted in previous years: Brazil (1997 and 1998), Bulgaria (1996 and 1997), Cameroon (1998), Chad (1997), Colombia (1998), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1998), El Salvador (1996), Equatorial Guinea (1998), Ethiopia (1997), Gambia (1998), Haiti (1997), Honduras (1998), India (1997 and 1998), Indonesia (1998), Iran (Islamic Republic of) (1998), Ivory Coast (1997), Jamaica (1998), Kenya (1996, 1997 and 1998), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1998), Morocco (1996), Myanmar (1996, 1997 and 1998), Nepal (1997 and 1998), Niger (1997), Nigeria (1998), Pakistan (1996, 1997 and 1998), Paraguay (1996), Peru (1998), Philippines (1998), Russian Federation (1997), Viet Nam (1998), Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1997 and 1998), Yemen (1996), Zambia (1998), Zimbabwe (1998), and also the Palestinian Authority (1998). In addition, the Special Rapporteur sent 26 letters reminding Governments of a number of cases transmitted in 1999 with respect to which no reply had been received. The Special Rapporteur sent 164 urgent appeals to 56 Governments on behalf of about 470 individuals (of whom about 40 were known to be women and 35 to be minors) and 11 groups involving about 1,000 persons with regard to whom fears that they might be subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment had been expressed. Thirty-seven Governments provided the Special Rapporteur with replies on some 300 cases submitted during the year under review, whereas 25 did so with respect to some 400 cases submitted in previous years. Finally, the Special Rapporteur issued a press release on 5 March 2000 in conjunction with the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions with respect to the situation in the Republic of Chechnya and on 22 November 2000 in conjunction with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions with respect to the situation in the Province of Aceh. 17. This chapter contains, on a country-by-country basis, summaries of general allegations and individual cases, as well as of urgent appeals and government replies. Observations by the Special Rapporteur have also been included where applicable. Albania 18. By letter dated 5 October 2000, the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information on the following individual case. 19. Tonin Kolthi, the Partia Demokratike (Democratic Party) secretary for the village of Spiten near Lezhe, and three other DP supporters from Lezha, were reportedly stopped by masked special police officers near Laç on 22 March 2000. Tonin Kolthi was said to have been immediately hit on the head with a rifle butt. Handcuffed, he was put into a police van and