CAT/C/23/D/60/1996 page 15 “I entirely concur with Professor Pounder and agree that this cannot be a ‘traffic accident’, but is a deliberate injury to the lower intestine by the introduction of a thin weapon into the rectum, in a man who has been beaten on the feet and buttocks.” 9.8 The second report, prepared by Professor Fournier of the Université René Descartes in Paris on 10 October 1994, indicates that: “[The autopsy report], which may be described as very succinct, furnishes no evidence as to the true cause of death. [...] Most of the lesions described could be ascribed to a road accident. However, two factors rule out this hypothesis: “- The perforation of the rectosigmoid junction, which cannot be accounted for in terms of a mechanism of sharp deceleration and cannot be linked to an osteal lesion of the pelvis. “- The lesions on the soles of both feet, which are difficult to imagine in such circumstances. [...] “The hypothesis of death by inhibition is compatible with the observations made during examination with the naked eye. This type of death, which may be observed when violence is applied but also sometimes independently of any context of violence or torture, has been described on the occasion of vaginal or rectal examination, various punctures (of the pleura, the lumbar region, etc.), or injury to the testicles, the solar plexus region or the neck. The exact mechanism of death is not known, but pulmonary congestion is usually observed. As the dossier stands, and in the absence of more precise data concerning the prior clinical state and the toxicological context, the hypothesis of death by inhibition following the deliberate and traumatic introduction of a foreign body into the rectum appears to be highly likely.” 9.9 Lastly, the third report, prepared by Professor Thomsen of the University of Odense on 11 November 1994, states in relation to the autopsy report: “The above pattern of injury is not consistent with any known type of road traffic accident. The pattern of injury is much more consistent with having been inflicted deliberately by the use of blunt violence. Thus the haemorrhages of the foot soles are very indicative of the type of torture known as phalanga (or falaca) inflicted by the beating of the soles of the feet with clubs or similar instruments. A perforation of the rectosigmoid junction is very rarely seen without a pelvic fracture and is much more indicative of torture by the insertion of an object through the anal canal. The rest of the lesions are all consistent with the use of blunt violence in the form of beating by one or more other persons.