E/CN.4/1991/17 page 22 According to the information received, in the past, prisoners in Malabo and Bata Prisons were allegedly beaten and tortured. Fear has been expressed that the two above-mentioned persons might still be in danger of being tortured. Ethiopia Urgent appeals 68. On 21 May 1990 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government of Ethiopia concerning Tilahun Fardesse, aged 38, employee at the Ministry of Transport, and another person whose name was not reported. Both were reportedly detained on 16 May 1990 in Addis Ababa by eight or nine armed policemen in plain clothes and taken to the police head office. Three other persons were reportedly detained at the same time: a philosophy student at Addis Ababa University whose first name was reported to be Salomon and two Dutch journalists. Salomon was released on 17 May 1990 and the two journalists were expelled from the country on 18 May 1990. According to one of them Tilahun Fardesse was tortured immediately after his arrest and an eyewitness saw his clothes stained with blood. Mr. Fardesse had reportedly spent two years in gaol in 1987-1988 for supporting rebel activity. Letters and Government replies 69. On 9 February 1990 the Government of Ethiopia sent the following information to the Special Rapporteur in reply to his letter of 2 October 1989 (E/CN.4/1990/17, para. 6 5 ) : "... The Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has taken steps to investigate the case brought to its attention by the Special Rapporteur, concerning the alleged ill-treatment and torture of prisoners, as well as conditions in prison centres. The result of the investigation has made it clear that the allegations transmitted to the Special Rapporteur are unfounded and baseless". In addition, the Government of Ethiopia provided several legal texts, including relevant articles of the Constitution of 1987 which was adopted in a national referendum, with a view to proving the existence of legal and administrative safeguards for the protection of the rights and freedoms of those under detention in Ethiopia. Fiii Letters 70. On 6 June 1990 the Special Rapporteur addressed a letter to the Government of Fiji transmitting information according to which Chief Justice Apaitia Seru was reported as saying, on an unspecified date in 1989 that many defendants appeared in court with "visible signs of injury", apparently resulting from ill-treatment and torture while in police custody. He also reportedly expressed concern about the frequency of "deliberate police assault" of detainees. It was further reported that several students and staff members at the University of the South Pacific (USP), all of them politically active, were detained between 8 and 14 October 1989 by members of the security forces and were allegedly subjected to physical abuse and intimidation. Sushil Chandra, President of the USP Indian Students' Organisation, and Nandesa Gounder, Secretary of the same organization, were reportedly detained by police on 14 October 1989 and were allegedly kicked and