E/CN.4/1993/26
page 102
proceedings are following the normal course. Mr. Mhiri was not subjected to
maltreatment during detention and is now under the control of the judiciary.
456. Jamal Rizki, a suspected member of al-Nahda, Habib Khmila and 10 other
Tunisians were arrested in Tripoli and expelled to Tunisia in February 1992.
They are reported to have been taken to the Ministry of the Interior in Tunis
where they are being held incommunicado. (7 May 1992)
457. On 21 September 1992 the Government stated that Jamal Rizki had been
arrested by the police on 25 April 1992 and brought before the examining
magistrate of the Tunis court of first instance on 28 April. He was sentenced
by the court of first instance on 16 May to eight months' imprisonment and
placed under administrative supervision for one year. Mr. Rizki has appealed
to the Tunis court of appeal and the proceedings are following the normal
course. Mr. Rizki was not subjected to ill-treatment while in detention.
458. With regard to Habib Khmila the Government stated that he was suspected
of membership in a group conspiring against the security of the State. He was
arrested by the police on 21 April 1992. The Ben Arous examining magistrate
charged him with participation in a criminal association under articles 131,
132 and 133 of the Criminal Code. A committal order was made on 25 April 1992
and the case is proceeding. He was not subjected to ill-treatment of any kind
during detention.
459. The Tunisian nationals expelled from Libya to Tunisia were arrested by
the Libyan authorities for staying illegally in Libya. Three of them have
been released. Eleven others are to be tried for offences for which they were
wanted by the authorities.
Information received from the Government with respect to cases included in
previous reports
460. On 30 May 1991 the Government transmitted comments on a number of cases
in which torture was reported to have been used in the period 1987-1990.
Information on the cases had been forwarded by the Special Rapporteur on
14 February 1991 (E/CN.4/1992/17, paras. 233 and 234). Owing to an error the
Government's replies were not reflected in last year's report and are
therefore given below. At the same time the Government observed that the
protection of the individual against any physical attack is a fundamental
requirement for the defence of his dignity and security. Cruel practices and
mistreatment used as a means of extorting confessions or obtaining statements
of whatever kind have no place in a civilized society. Moreover, confessions
or statements so obtained are without juridical value and cannot afford a
basis for any decision or judgement. Because torture and maltreatment are
contrary to the principles governing civilized relationships, they are
prohibited under Tunisian law and persons guilty of practising them are liable
to penalties whose strictness and severity are commensurate with the repulsive
nature of the practices and the loathing with which they are regarded by the
lawmakers. In the Criminal Code the Tunisian legislature has accordingly
given a particularly important place to defence of the dignity of the person
and the prohibition of anything that can impair it. The Government also
pointed out that human rights are embodied in the curricula of primary and
secondary schools and at all levels of instruction in private as well as
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