E/CN.4/1995/34 page 142 739. The Government replied that Salaheddin Zikikout had been detained under an arrest warrant issued against him by the Government Procurator and sentenced by the courts with full respect of the rights of the defence and within the framework of the guarantees offered to persons involved in court proceedings. The allegations concerning torture and the falsification of the date of arrest were false. Tunisian law offered all individuals ways of denouncing and demanding compensation for any prejudice they may have suffered. Urgent appeals transmitted and replies received 740. On 1 March 1994 the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Ali Mabouj, a Tunisian citizen resident in France, who was arrested by the police on 6 February 1994 at his home in Ben Guerdane, Medenine district. Following his arrest he reportedly was being held incommunicado, without contact with his family or lawyer, beyond the time-limit of 10 days provided for by law. 741. On 24 September 1994 the Government replied that Ali Mabouj had in fact been arrested on 18 February 1994, inter alia, for membership in an unauthorized association. On 22 February the Public Ministry attached to the court of first instance in Medenine issued a warrant for his detention in the civil prison of Medenine where he was being held. He had not been kept incommunicado nor been subjected to any ill-treatment. He was in a normal state of health and was regularly visited by his mother, wife and son. On 30 September 1994 the Government further informed the Special Rapporteur that Ali Mabouj had been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for collection of illegal funds. 742. In the same communication of 1 March, the Special Rapporteur also made an appeal on behalf of Hamma Hammami, a member of the unauthorized Tunisian Workers’ Communist Party, who was convicted in absentia in December 1992 for having taken part in illegal meetings and distributed leaflets. According to the reports, he was arrested in Tunis on 14 February 1994 and subjected to torture at Sousse police headquarters and the Ministry of the Interior, following which he lost consciousness for several hours. Since then his condition has reportedly been precarious and he has been refused all medical treatment. 743. On 24 September 1994 the Government replied that the police officers, during a patrol of Sousse on 14 February 1994, wanted to check the identity of Hamma Hammami, who was behaving suspiciously, but he ran away. He was pursued and caught, whereupon he struck and injured two police officers. He did in fact undergo a medical examination at the request of his lawyers. The fears expressed regarding torture were unfounded. 744. The Special Rapporteur transmitted a further urgent appeal in the case of Hamma Hammami on 13 December 1994. According to new information, he had gone on hunger strike in prison on 7 December 1994 and had been moved to an undisclosed location to be "punished". His family and lawyers were reportedly being denied access to him.