E/CN.4/1990/17 page 6 26. On 16 October 1989 the Government of Algeria addressed a letter to the Special Rapporteur stating that its position on the question of torture had always been and remained one of firm and unequivocal condemnation of that unacceptable practice. The Government quoted a number of statements made by senior Algerian officials, including the President of the Republic, strongly condemning the practice of torture and giving an assurance that he had taken the requisite measures and that persons guilty of such practices would be punished. As to the events of October 1988, the Government stated that appeals had been filed by the victims of those events and that the cases were pending. Bahrain 27. On 21 April 1989 the Special Rapporteur addressed a letter to the Government of Bahrain transmitting information concerning the case of Ebrahim Bahman M. A. Dashti, born on 25 January 1959 in Manama, Bahrain. Mr. Dashti was allegedly brutally arrested on 16 March 1985 and questioned about his alleged connections with a banned organization called the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, which he denied. Subsequently he was allegedly subjected to various types of torture, including severe beating on all parts of the body; flogging with cables, steel wires and a wood baton; forcing the head in & tank of water almost until suffocation; immersion in two tanks of hot and cold water alternately; hanging upside down from a ceiling fan, while being kicked and punched; electric shocks with electrodes connected to various parts of the body, including ears, nipples and genitals; piercing with needles beneath the finger-nails; being held in a small dark room into which were introduced two big dogs, which bit the victim in all parts of his body; threats against family members and being tortured in front of family members; being hit on the fingers with a hammer while blindfolded, mouthwrapped and with hands and feet tied; being tied to a chair and having burning coals brought with pincers close to the eyes; having the head banged against a wall; lying down on the floor on the back, with hands and feet tied to the ground and being pressed with a boot on the neck until near suffocation; being forced to chew a dead rat; being hung from the ceiling by wrists and feet, facing down to the ground (a method known as "flying spider"); being subjected to a method known as "Barbeque Chicken" or "Farooj"; being exposed to wild dogs for 10 minutes daily, and then having salt and pepper sprinkled on his bleeding body. The names of the officials allegedly responsible for those practices were transmitted to the Government. Following that treatment and further threats of torture with thalium (a chemical poison), Mr. Dashti signed a confession, was taken to court and was sent to Al-Quala prison for further interrogation. He was held there for 14 months during which period he continued to be tortured. He subsequently signed further confessions, was taken to court and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, which he served in Manama prison. On 21 February 1988 Mr. Dashti was deported to Iran. While serving his sentence Mr. Dashti witnessed several other inmates allegedly being tortured. They included the following: Zuheir Haddad, Nader Al-Nasheet, Muhammad Abdullah Al-Moghabi, Hussain Fordan, Abdul Raouf Al-Shayeb, Ebrahim Hassan Jassim, Muhammad Hassan Mahroom, Said Al-Aradi, Abdul Redha Al-Turaifi, Hassan Jaffer, Abdul Aziz Abdullah Nassir, Towfeeq Al-Mahroos, Jalal Al-Quassab, Abdul Rasool Mubarak, Ebrahim Kadhim Matar, Ahmed Saleh, Faisal Marhoon, Ali Saleh, Jaffar Ghowayed, Hasan Al Khan, Said Al Aradi, Jaffer Sahwan and Muhammad Baquer. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted to the Government the case of Muhammad Mansoor Hassan, aged 32, a Bahraini national who was arrested on 25 January 1989 at Bahrain international airport upon his