CCPR/C/112/D/2046/2011 2.12 They were all released on 7 December 2008 after the Head of State’s son, Saif alIslam Gaddafi, personally intervened. 2.13 When Adel Saleh Hmeed was released following his acquittal on 6 April 2008, he lodged a criminal complaint regarding the burning and burglary of the family home. On 14 December 2008, in response to the complaint, a public prosecutor of Soul el Jom’a requested the chief of the local police to promptly provide information on these events. The public prosecutor also wished to know the date on which the burned-down house was placed under surveillance and the names of the agents tasked with the surveillance. 5 However, the author has not been informed of any action taken in response to the request. 2.14 On 25 November 2009, Saleh Salem Hmeed, the author’s husband, was released after 23 years in prison, following an amnesty on medical grounds. The complaint 3.1 The author first cites articles 7 and 10 of the Covenant, claiming that her husband, Saleh Salem Hmeed, was subjected to acts of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. While in detention, he was held in isolation for a long period, causing depression and leaving serious psychological scars. Inflicting such mental anguish infringes article 7 of the Covenant. As to the rest of the family, the author herself was physically assaulted. Her sons were brutally beaten, held in isolation, tortured and denied medical care. Lastly, the author claims that setting the family home on fire, at a time when the family was particularly vulnerable, also amounted to the cruel and inhuman treatment of the entire Hmeed family. 3.2 The author also claims that article 9 of the Covenant has been violated insofar as, following his arrest, Saleh Salem Hmeed was unable to challenge the grounds of his arrest before a judicial authority. Moreover, he was not brought before a judge until 28 January 1987, i.e., after 23 days in detention, without being given a reason for his prolonged detention. Saleh Salem Hmeed was never given the opportunity to challenge the ruling against him or the lawfulness of his detention. He was definitively sentenced but was denied the right to appeal his conviction. As to the author’s sons, they were arrested on 15 and 16 February 2007 without a warrant and without even being informed of the grounds for their arrest. They were then held in solitary confinement, were not brought before a judge or a competent authority and were denied the opportunity to challenge their detention or to receive the assistance of counsel. 3.3 Regarding articles 17 and 23 of the Covenant, the author claims that the public authorities unlawfully and arbitrarily interfered with her privacy, family and home. Members of State security forces stormed and searched the family’s home without a warrant. In the course of this raid, the officers physically assaulted members of the Hmeed family, set fire to the house and took away Fredj Saleh Hmeed. The author stresses the arbitrary nature of this interference with their privacy, family and home. The family was devastated by the loss not only of their common living space and repository of family history but also of their means of subsistence. 3.4 In relation to articles 19 and 21 of the Covenant, the author claims that the family members were persecuted for their efforts to resolve the situation of their father and husband, Saleh Salem Hmeed, including through plans to take part in a peaceful demonstration to denounce human rights violations in the country. In retaliation, the members of the author’s family received death threats and were assaulted, in violation of articles 19 and 21 of the Covenant. 5 6 The author has included a copy of the request in the file. GE.14-22374