E/CN.4/1994/31 page 78 Information received from the Government on cases included in previous reports 367. On 12 November 1992 the Special Rapporteur sent a letter to the Government regarding the alleged beating in March 1992 of Wangari Maathai and other women hunger strikers. On 31 March 1993 the Government replied that the circumstances surrounding the alleged beating had been the subject of much controversy and disinformation. When these persons first decided to camp at Uhuru Park, the Government was anxious to establish communication with them with a view to finding a solution to their grievances. Towards this end, the Attorney-General held a meeting with them on 28 February 1992 and promised to look into their complaints. 368. Notwithstanding their assurance to the Government that their protest would be peaceful, the opposition began to hold unlicensed public meetings at the venue of the mothers’ strike and illegal processions and demonstrations in and around the area. Moreover, soon thereafter, some elements in the environs of the scene of the hunger strike had begun to stone passing motorists and to obstruct traffic. As a result of these activities the police had been instructed to move in to restore law and order. It was in furtherance of this objective that the striking mothers and those at the scene of the strike and its surroundings had been removed. In the course of this operation the police and members of the public had been stoned by some elements who had taken over the movement. The police had responded to these incidents by using force which was commensurate with the situation. In the light of the experience at Uhuru Park the striking mothers had moved to the nearby Cathedral where they continued their strike. In view of the steps taken by the Government to meet their grievances the strike had been called off by late 1992. 369. By letter dated 1 April 1993 the Government added to its reply that neither Wangari Maathai nor the other striking mothers who were alleged to have been beaten had made any formal complaint to the authorities and therefore no investigations into the matter could have been carried out. Malawi Information transmitted to the Government 370. By letter dated 9 June 1993 the Special Rapporteur informed the Government of reports he had received about arrests and short-term imprisonment of supporters of the movement for a multi-party system that allegedly occurred in 1992. The conditions of imprisonment of those arrested were reported to be exceptionally poor. The main prisons to which they were taken, Chichiri in Blantyre and Maula in Lilongwe, were reportedly those with the worst conditions and the most severe overcrowding in the country. Prisoners were forced to spend the night standing crammed together because there was not even space for them to sit. Many of those arrested were alleged to have been subjected to severe beatings, electric shocks and sexual abuse. 371. It was also reported that assault and torture were crimes under Malawi’s Penal Code and unlawful under Malawi’s civil law, entitling the victim to sue for damages. However, no prosecution or civil action for assault or torture was known to have taken place. The following individual cases were reported: