E/CN.4/1989/15 page 4 II. ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR A. Correspondence with Governments 11. In pursuance of paragraph 8 of resolution 1988/32, the Special Rapporteur addressed notes verbales to Governments with the request that they provide him with any information relevant to his mandate, including information on preventive measures intended to eradicate the phenomenon of torture and on the establishment of an independent authority, at a national level, able to receive individual complaints. 12. In response to his request, the following Governments submitted information: Bahamas (26 September 1988), Burma (26 August 1988), Burundi (23 September 1988), Canada (26 September and 7 October 1988), Chad (27 September 1988), China (21 July 1988), Cuba (12 September 1988), Denmark (1 July 1988), Dominican Republic (7 September 1988), France (29 September 1988), Germany's Federal Republic (1 September 1988), Guatemala (1 September 1988), Haiti (19 April 1988 and 23 December 1988), Iraq (19 April 1988), Italy (18 October 1988), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (12 October 1988), Mauritius (26 September 1988), Mexico (5 September 1988), Marocco (29 November 1988), Netherlands (12 August 1988), Philippines (29 August and 20 December 1988), Portugal (11 November 1988), Quatar (31 August and 25 November 1988) , Republic of Korea (22 August and 29 August 19 88), Samoa (21 September 1988), Saudi Arabia (9 August 1988), Singapore (1 September and 14 September 1988), Spain (21 November), Uganda (19 September 1988), United States of America (12 September 1988). B. Information transmitted to Governments 13. As in previous years, the Special Rapporteur received numerous allegations of the practice of torture from different sources. After analysing them, letters with a summarized description of the allegations were transmitted to 37 countries for clarification. 14. The letters and the replies received are summarized below. Afghanistan 15. On 10 June 1988, a letter was addressed to the Government of Afghanistan transmitting information alleging that torture continued to be systematically practised in the Khad security police interrogation centres, military posts and Pol-i-Charkhi central prison in Kabul. Two women were allegedly arrested on the night of 29 July 1987 at a village near Jalalabad. They were taken to the security police and were allegedly severely tortured. Another young woman arrested in May 1987 by Soviet troops near Nani in Ghazni Province was reportedly tortured at the local Soviet military headquarters and later at the Khad Interrogation Centre in Ghazni. An 18-year-old student at Kabul University arrested on 1 April 1987 died on 20 April 1987, allegedly as a result of torture inflicted during interrogation at the Khad detention centre at Shashdarak in Kabul.