A/HRC/19/61/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez, conducted a visit to Tunisia from 15 to 22 May 2011, at the invitation of the interim Government. The purpose of the mission was to look into the violations committed during the Ben Ali regime; to assess the abuses committed during and after the revolution (the period of 17 December 2010–May 2011); and to identify measures needed to prevent torture and ill-treatment in the future. 2. During his seven-day mission, the Special Rapporteur met with the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and other officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Minister of Justice and other officials at the Ministry of Justice; the Minister of the Interior; the General Director of National Security; the Director General of the National Guard; the Director of External Relations and International Cooperation; the Head of the Human Rights Unit; and other representatives of the General Directorate of National Security, the General Directorate of the National Guard, the Directorate of the Judicial Police and the interim Government. 3. Outside of the Government, the Special Rapporteur met with the Chair of the National Commission to Establish the Facts of Abuses and Violations from 17 December 2011 until the Elimination of their Cause (hereinafter referred to as the fact-finding commission); the spokesperson of the High Authority for the Achievement of the Revolution’s Objectives, Political Reform and Democratic Transition; the Chair of the Commission Investigating Cases of Embezzlement and Corruption; and a broad range of civil society organizations, lawyers and victims and their families. In addition, the Special Rapporteur held meetings with the United Nations Country Team, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the diplomatic community. 4. The Special Rapporteur visited places of deprivation of liberty, and police stations in Tunis, Bizerte and Kasserine. In all of those places, the Special Rapporteur was able to hold private interviews with detainees. 5. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice for issuing an authorization letter providing him with unrestricted access to all detention facilities in accordance with the terms of reference for fact-finding missions by special rapporteurs of 1998 (E/CN.4/1998/45, annex V). He regrets, however, that despite his repeated requests he did not receive a similar letter from the Ministry of the Interior, although the latter orally indicated that the Special Rapporteur could visit any place of detention of his choice. 6. While accepting to visit some places of detention proposed by the Government, such as the Bouchoucha detention centre, the Special Rapporteur also sought to conduct unannounced visits to prisons and other detention facilities. However, authorities insisted on having the Special Rapporteur’s itinerary for visits outside Tunis; it appeared that in Kasserine, for example, the prison authorities were expecting him when he arrived. In Bouchoucha, the Special Rapporteur heard from detainees that the mattresses were put in place and juveniles were separated from adult detainees just prior to his visit. While he assumes that most preparations were well intended, they contradict the very purpose of unannounced visits and independent fact-finding. The Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize that his fact-finding is fully effective only if he enjoys unrestricted freedom of inquiry, including by conducting visits of detention without prior announcement. 7. Due to time constraints, the Special Rapporteur selected a representative sample of places and facilities to visit in different parts of the country. The testimonies heard shared the same pattern and consistency, and were corroborated by forensic expertise. 4