CCPR/C/118/D/2157/2012 The complaint 3.1 The author initially invokes the right to an effective remedy, under article 2 (3) of the Covenant. Despite having been contacted on many occasions by the author, the competent judicial and administrative authorities have failed to investigate the allegation that the victim was executed. The author adds that the State party has failed to fulfil its obligation to clarify and resolve all the cases of human rights violations submitted to the Committee, in many cases of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial executions. He further points out that, since February 2006, pursuant to the Order on the implementation of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, the prosecution of members of any branch of the Algerian defence and security forces is prohibited, which constitutes an infringement of the obligation by States to ensure the enjoyment of Covenant rights, of which the right to an effective remedy is a major component. The author concludes that the State party has failed to meet its obligation under article 2 (3) of the Covenant with regard to Mohammed Belamrania. 3.2 The author adds that the execution of Mohammed Belamrania by agents of the Algerian State constitutes, in essence, a violation of his right to life. He maintains that the State party, pursuant to its accession to the Covenant, should have taken steps to prevent all arbitrary executions by State security forces, given the extreme seriousness of such acts. In this case, the victim died as a result of a deliberate action by the Algerian army. The State party’s failure to fulfil its duty to safeguard the right to life is compounded by its failure to make any effort whatsoever to investigate and shed light on the summary execution of Mohammed Belamrania. 3.3 The author also invokes the right to not be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under article 7 of the Covenant. He recalls that Mohammed Belamrania was held at the barracks in El Kennar, where he was tortured throughout the night following his arrest. His screams while he was being tortured could be heard as far away as the village. Some 10 days later, his body was found at Tenfdour (El Milia), bearing visible traces of torture in addition to bullet wounds. The victim must have been aware of how his arrest might end given that the practice of summarily executing persons arrested by the army was widespread at the time. Thus, the time leading up to his execution must have been one of terrible anguish and suffering. Being arbitrarily torn from his family and then taken by force to be tortured and summarily executed amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and therefore constituted a violation of article 7 of the Covenant with regard to Mohammed Belamrania. 3.4 The author is afraid that the present procedure before the Committee may serve as a pretext for the Algerian authorities to persecute him for attempting to shed light on the circumstances of his father’s execution. He further fears that he has exposed himself even more to reprisals from the authorities through his efforts at the national level to determine the responsibility of State agents in his father’s summary execution, insofar as articles 45 and 46 of Order No. 06-01 of 27 February 2006 on the implementation of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation provide for the prosecution and imprisonment of any person who criticizes the State security forces for actions taken in defence of the country and the Algerian population. 3.5 Accordingly, the author asks the Committee to request Algeria to refrain from taking any criminal or other measures to punish or intimidate him, or any other member of his family, in relation for the present communication. 12 3.6 Considering that all domestic remedies have proved ineffective and useless and that the victim’s family is now legally deprived of their right of appeal, the victim’s son, author of the complaint, is no longer obliged, for this communication to be deemed admissible by the Committee, to pursue any further domestic actions and procedures, or to run the risk of being exposed to criminal proceedings. The author therefore requests that the Committee find the present complaint admissible. 12 6 See paragraph 1.3 above. GE.17-04240