CAT/C/61/D/654/2015 Request for interim measures 3.19 The complainant, referring to the Committee’s concluding observations,12 states that since his filing of the complaint on 3 June 2011, relatives of the accused have ordered him to withdraw it or to abandon his charges. In October 2014, he received anonymous calls threatening to return him to prison. Some of those responsible for the acts of torture still apparently enjoy considerable power and means of exerting pressure. Mention may be made, in particular, of the greatly feared former Director of State Security, who was prosecuted in absentia. As he was suspected of involvement in several torture cases that were being investigated, he was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment at the end of a trial, 13 on 14 November 2011, but he has recently been released. He is considered to be on the run, but he is apparently still in Tunisia and exerts considerable influence on the police. Similarly, the Director of Borj Erroumi Prison currently occupies a high-level post in the prison administration. Hence the complainant legitimately fears reprisals. 3.20 The complainant therefore requests the Committee for protective measures to ensure that he does not suffer irreparable damage, and for steps to guarantee protection of the archives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the prison administration, which could prove useful in seeking the truth. State party’s observations on admissibility and on the merits 4.1 In its observations of 31 July 2015, the State party notes that the complainant filed a complaint against a number of individuals, including former President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, for acts of torture to which he was subjected. The complaint was registered in the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of First Instance as number 7028088/011 on 3 June 2011. The Public Prosecutor’s Office authorized the opening of a provisional investigation by the first investigating judge at the Court of First Instance in Tunis. The judge characterized the acts as the crime of use of serious violence without a legitimate ground by a public official in the performance of his duties, pursuant to article 101 of the Criminal Code; the judge then referred the case to the Correctional Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Tunis for prosecution. The complainant appealed against the order to close the investigation. At the hearing on 8 April 2015, the Court of First Instance in Tunis sentenced the accused Zine el Abidine Ben Ali to 5 years’ imprisonment for using violence against persons in the course of, or in connection with, his duties without lawful cause; he was also ordered to pay the costs of the criminal proceedings. With regard to the charges filed against the other defendants, the court ruled that the time limit for prosecution had expired. 4.2 According to the State party, the complainant has not exhausted domestic remedies, since the case is still pending before the Court of Appeal and an appeal in cassation may be filed against the ruling of the Court of Appeal. 4.3 With regard to the merits of the case, the State party underscores, as a subsidiary point, that the Public Prosecutor authorized the opening of a provisional investigation at the Court of First Instance in Tunis as soon as the complainant lodged his complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office. After completing the necessary inquiries, the Court ordered the closure of the investigation and referred the accused to the Correctional Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Tunis for the initiation of proceedings relating to the charges that were deemed to be admissible. Zine el Abidine Ben Ali was convicted. Moreover, the complainant, who appealed against the initial judgment, has not exhausted domestic remedies. Complainant’s comments on the State party’s submission 5.1 On 25 August 2016, the complainant highlighted the futility of available domestic remedies in Tunisia and the failure to observe reasonable time limits. He claims that the development that has occurred since the referral of the complaint to the Committee, namely the ruling of the Court of First Instance in Tunis which was handed down on 8 April 2015, confirms these two findings. 12 13 10 Report of the Committee against Torture (A/54/44), chap. IV, para. 78. Trial concerning the victims of Barraket Essahel. GE.17-16785