CCPR/C/115/D/2214/2012
the wake of acts of intimidation committed against him that endangered his personal
safety (anonymous telephone calls and being followed by unidentified individuals).
On 23 January 2009, the author ’s brother decided to reinstate the complaint by way of
a letter addressed to the Attorney General in which he stressed the urgent nature of the
request. The letter was received by the competent service on 2 February 2009. This
complaint clearly indicated the intention to bring action against the General Director
of ANR for abduction, arbitrary detention and torture of the author. 4
2.17 In parallel, the World Organization Against Torture and Association africaine de
défense des droits de l’homme publicly denounced what had happened and called on
the authorities to take action to desist from further violations of the author ’s rights and
to investigate the parties responsible for those activities. 5
2.18 On 11 March 2009, a lawyer retained by the author ’s brother sent a
communication to the Attorney General to enquire about the status of his client ’s
complaint. 6 On 17 June 2009, a second lawyer — representing the Association —
wrote to the Attorney General pointing out that the complaint filed by the author ’s
brother had not yet been investigated despite counsel having resubmitted the
complaint. He requested that an inquiry should be launched immediately into the
events in question.
2.19 On 4 April 2011, the lawyer retained by the author ’s brother wrote again to the
Attorney General to follow up on the earlier complaint; receipt of the letter was
registered by the Attorney General’s office on 7 April 2011. On 24 June 2011, another
lawyer for the author sent a request to the Minister of Justice and Human Rights
requesting that he enjoin the Attorney General to launch the investigation into the
complaint. 7
2.20 The remedies pursued have exceeded a reasonable time per iod and, more
importantly, have proved to be ineffective.
The complaint
3.1 The author claims that the State party has violated his rights under article 7 in
view of the treatment he was subjected to during his detention, which constitutes
torture. The author alleges, first, that he was subjected to acute pain and suffering
during interrogations that were conducted every day but one. During each
interrogation, he was beaten severely, including being kicked and struck with a
revolver in the groin and upper thighs. He was also subjected to having metal clamps
attached to his testicles and tongue on a regular basis, to choking and to blows to the
lower abdomen. During one of the interrogations, a guard lifted the author by the
throat and then attached a clamp to his tongue. The author was also raped by the
guards. Each morning, he was forced to submerge his head in a bucket of urine. These
acts continued until the author had to be hospitalized. These acts were committed by
ANR authorities for the purpose of inflicting acute pain in order to extort political
information. Evidence of torture was recorded in a 25 August 2009 forensic medical
report prepared as part of the procedure that led to the granting of refugee status in the
United Kingdom. 8
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5
6
7
8
6/17
A copy of the complaint is included in the author’s file.
Copies of the Association’s press release of 15 December 2008 and of the urgent appeals from the
World Organization Against Torture dated 15 and 23 December 2008 are included in the author ’s
file.
A copy of the letter is included in the author’s file.
A copy of the letter is included in the author ’s file.
The report, a copy of which is included in the author ’s file, establishes a causal link between the
symptoms and marks observed on his body and his allegations of torture.
GE.15-22873