E/CN.4/1991/17 page 49 place when he was expelled from France and turned over to the Spanish authorities as an alleged member of the ETA terrorist group. He was immediately taken to Civil Guard barracks in San Sebastian, El Antiguo district; at no time was he detained in the Intxaurrondo barracks. On 5 October 1987, he was given an examination by the forensic physician of the National High Court. A medical report was issued following the examination. The medical certificate, whose contents were made public, states that Askasibar 'refuses to answer questions about the treatment he received during his detention', and that the physical examination refers to 'good general condition' and slight bruising on the left wrist caused by the rubbing of the handcuffs. 'There is no other type of violence". On 7 and 8 October 1987, proceedings were initiated for the prisoner's statement and photographic identifications, which he signed after having read them and found them in order, without ever complaining of ill-treatment. At 11.20 a.m. on 8 October, the proceedings and the prisoner were referred to the judge of Central Examining Court No. 1 (National High Court, Madrid), where the statement which was made contained allegations of torture without any details as to what it involved and without any questions or clarifications by Mr. Gorostiza, counsel appointed by the prisoner himself. All this may be clearly explained by the fact that such allegations are frequently made by prisoners when the aim is to nullify a statement which was made voluntarily to officials of the State Security Forces and is incriminating, even if there is no basis in fact for it. Thus, a further medical examination was conducted the same day an*:! the forensic physician of the National High Court issued a medical report, which is also referred to in the above-mentioned records, and as far as could be determined, includes the following: 'His medical condition is normal and, physically, he has scrapes on both wrists which are typical of handcuffs and welts about three or four days old on the left hip bone, without any mark enabling their cause to be determined. He does not have any other type of injuries and is able to dress and undress completely normally without any sign of pain'. The investigating authorities express their agreement and state that the prisoner was never subjected to the treatment referred to in the Special Rapporteur's letter and that they have no knowledge that either Askasibar or any legal representative appointed on his behalf has filed a complaint for ill-treatment in any of the three examining courts in San Sebastian." 151. With regard to Mr. Fernando Egileo Ituarte, the second person referred to in the letter sent by the Special Rapporteur, the Police Department reported that: "According to the communication by the Bilbao Police Headquarters, Examining Court No. 4 in that city took preliminary steps as a result of Mr. Egileo Ituarte's complaint of injuries which were apparently inflicted on him on 14 December 1988 at Arenal Bridge and Navarra de Bilbao Street. At 8 p.m. on 14 December 1988, during the general strike called by a number of trade unions, members of the National Police had to step in to restore public order, which was disturbed when rebellious groups set up barricades and carried out attacks on police officers in the area of Casco Viejo, Arenal and Navarra de Bilbao Street. Order was restored at 9 p.m., when the National Police withdrew. There is evidence that, at the time when the complainant states that he was beaten, all the police officers involved had returned to their base. In the files at Bilbao Headquarters, there is no record of intervention or arrests by any police units at the times when the complainant says that he was attacked. On the orders of Examining Court No. 4 in Bilbao, investigations were conducted to shed light on the facts, with the above-mentioned results.