E/CN.4/1995/34 page 135 August 1993 on suspicion of spying and had allegedly been tortured in custody. On 6 January 1994 the Government replied that interrogations with Mr. Mamoun had reached the final stages and the results of the interrogations would be evaluated in order to bring criminal charges against him. No reference was made in the Government’s reply to the torture allegations. Observations 707. The Special Rapporteur notes that the Government’s replies, for which he is grateful, concern only a small number of his urgent appeals and not the more substantial information he has transmitted. The latter tends again to confirm the view of the Special Rapporteur charged with reporting on the situation of human rights in the Sudan that torture continues to be systematically practised in that country (A/49/539, para. 83). Switzerland Information transmitted to the Government 708. By letter dated 14 September 1994 the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information indicating that law enforcement officers had sometimes used deliberate and unwarranted physical violence against persons both immediately before they had been taken into police custody and during their first 24 hours in custody, before they had been put at the disposal of a judge. Such incidents were reported to have occurred most frequently in the canton of Geneva. The forms of ill-treatment alleged included repeated slaps, kicks and punches, and heavy pressure applied to the windpipe causing near-asphyxiation. Detainees were said to be often advised by their lawyers not to file criminal complaints alleging ill-treatment against officers because judicial and administrative investigation into such complaints rarely resulted in disciplinary or criminal sanctions against officers. Detainees indicating their intention to file a complaint were said at times to be threatened with counter-charges of defamation or resisting State officers. 709. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted to the Government the individual cases summarized in the following paragraphs. 710. Sidat Sisay, a Gambian citizen in transit in January 1993 to the United States to receive urgent medical treatment for severe back pain and walking difficulties, was reportedly forced to strip naked and was beaten and kicked on his back and sides by three members of the Geneva airport police who accused him of carrying a false passport. After confirming the validity of his travel documents, two plainclothes officers advised that he be allowed to continue his travel the following day. However, the following day the police and airline informed him that his flight had been cancelled and he was reportedly placed for two days in an airport cell and put on a return flight to The Gambia. A medical certificate issued after his return was said to have confirmed injuries consistent with his allegations, including bruising to his lower back and chest and damage to his right knee which aggravated his existing medical condition.