CAT/C/71/D/858/2018 to find his dead body. The officers then forced A.H. into their vehicle, without an arrest warrant, and took him to an unknown location. 2.5 A.H.’s father, B.N., was informed of his son’s abduction in the afternoon of 13 December 2015. He went to the chef de colline,10 who refused to help him. In the following days, B.N. conducted a search for A.H. and went to all the police stations in the area of Cibitoke, Ngagara and Bwiza, as well as the detention centre of the National Intelligence Service, but his efforts were unsuccessful. B.N. was then visited at his home by a person in civilian clothing. This person told him that he had been sent by the men who had abducted his son. He threatened B.N., telling him that he was being watched and that, if he continued his search or filed a complaint, he would meet the same fate as A.H. Subsequently, A.H.’s two brothers – including S.R., the complainant – decided to leave Burundi in order to take refuge in a neighbouring country, as they feared that, as fellow members of the Movement for Solidarity and Development, they, too, would be abducted. The complainant emphasizes that these events took place in the aftermath of the attacks of 11 December 201511 and were part of the subsequent police crackdown. 2.6 On 14 December 2015, B.N. went to the Independent National Human Rights Commission in order to request assistance in his search. The Commission registered his application, but then told him, during a verbal interview, that it had not found A.H. in the detention facilities visited. In the days that followed, B.N. asked for a copy of his application to register the request, but the Commission refused to provide him with one. The complainant emphasizes that the Commission suffers from a lack of independence and impartiality vis-àvis the executive branch and that international proceedings have been brought against it.12 2.7 On 14 December 2015, a witness recognized A.H. in the Cibitoke neighbourhood. He was in a police vehicle, tied up and covered in blood, with several police officers around him. A.H. has not been found since. 2.8 In the months that followed, B.N. continued to be subjected to intimidation. Police officers came approximately every three months to search his home, claiming that they were checking his household record booklet.13 During each visit, B.N. was questioned about the whereabouts of his other sons and the police officers threatened that they would “meet the same fate as A.H.” if they were caught. The complainant, S.R., emphasizes that these visits caused B.N. intense suffering and might have been the cause of his hypertension. Lack of investigation and exhaustion of domestic remedies 2.9 The complainant maintains that B.N. did not bring a complaint before the national courts for fear of reprisals. He points out that officers from the Unit for the Protection of Institutions have been recognized as being heavily implicated in serious human rights violations.14 2.10 The complainant emphasizes that domestic remedies have proved unavailable in view of the human rights situation in Burundi. He refers to the case of Phillip v. Trinidad and Tobago,15 in which the Human Rights Committee held that a complainant did not need to exhaust domestic remedies if he or she would be placed in danger by doing so. In the present case, the perpetrators of the acts of torture and ill-treatment are members of the police, senior officers and/or persons close to the current Government, who have significant powers and means of exerting pressure in order to prevent proceedings from being brought against them before the national courts. The complainant points out that, in 2014, the Committee had expressed concern at the absence of protection for victims and witnesses, who were subject 10 11 12 13 14 15 4 Local leader. See para. 2.1 above. On this subject, see Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, Report and Recommendations of the Session of the Subcommittee on Accreditation, Geneva, 13–17 November 2017, pp. 50–53, available at www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/NHRI/Pages/SCA-Reports.aspx. A household record booklet is a register of the persons living in a house. A/HRC/36/CRP.1, para. 204. Phillip v. Trinidad and Tobago (CCPR/C/64/D/594/1992), para. 6.4. GE.21-12084