E/CN.4/1998/38 page 42 Branch of the security forces, were often held incommunicado for prolonged periods, sometimes weeks or months, without access to lawyers and family members. Torture was said to be inflicted systematically against such detainees. Military intelligence, criminal investigation police and members of the armed forces also allegedly used torture on a widespread basis, against both political suspects and common law detainees. Officials carrying out torture were said usually to act with impunity, as few investigations of such officials had reportedly been carried out. 208. The methods of torture reported included: beatings all over the body, including with rifle butts, iron rods, cables and sticks; sexual assault, including rape; threat of rape of the victim or his or her relatives in his or her presence; application of electric shocks; suspension from a metal bar inserted between the hands and knees which are tied together (“Kentucky Farruj”); being urinated on; being walked on while lying naked on slabs of concrete; prolonged solitary confinement; shackling for lengthy periods; burning with cigarettes; beatings on the soles of the feat (falaqa); dousing with cold water; suspension, sometimes upside down, from the ceiling or window while simultaneously being subjected to other forms of torture; whipping and lashing; sleep deprivation; being kept in adverse weather conditions; being tied to a chair or bound with ropes while being subjected to other forms of torture; and forced head shaving. 209. Members of the security forces were also said to carry out abductions and beatings of political opposition figures as reprisal for their political activities and/or to dissuade them from engaging in such activities in the future. 210. The Special Rapporteur also informed the Government that he had received information concerning the application of corporal punishment in Yemen. Under the Penal Code enacted in 1994, fornication, when the offender is unmarried, is punishable by 100 lashes and adultery is punishable by death by stoning (articles 263 and 264). Consumption of alcohol and slander are punishable by 80 lashes (articles 283 and 289). Amputation of the right hand is prescribed for a first theft offence and amputation of the left foot at the ankle for a subsequent offence (article 298). Highway robbery is punishable by amputation of the right hand and left foot (article 307 (2)). 211. Flogging was said to be carried out on a regular basis. Defendants were reportedly often flogged immediately upon trial without appeal to higher courts, as such defendants are generally released after the flogging, whereas they might spend lengthy periods in detention during any appeal process they might pursue. Judges were said to face threats or other pressure from security forces to convict defendants in corporal punishment cases. 212. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted five cases, several of them collective, concerning 7 named, 18 unnamed individuals, and the detainees in Si’un prison. Furthermore, he made three urgent appeals on behalf of 11 named and 28 unnamed individuals. The Government responded to one urgent appeal on behalf of two individuals sentenced to corporal punishment.