CAT/C/60/D/612/2014 provide him with the medical reports on his case. Despite the fact that the complainant informed the judge about the refusal, the court took no action to requisition those documents, nor did the judge request an expert opinion, notwithstanding the fact that it was within the judge’s power to do so under article 199 of the former Criminal Code, in force at the time of the events. 2.17 On 3 January 2012, A.N. was given a criminal sentence of 11 years of imprisonment for participation in armed gangs and State security offences. He filed an appeal against the ruling. On 30 August 2012, the Ngozi Court of Appeal finally acquitted him, and he was released on 11 September 2012. A.N. had spent more than 16 months in detention. 2.18 On 14 January 2013 A.N. sent a letter to the Minister of Education requesting his reinstatement as a teacher. His reinstatement was only accepted in July 2013, and the complainant has since been unable to obtain a copy of the decision. The complainant emphasizes that he is in an extremely dire situation professionally and financially. He still does not know whether he will again be able to once again practise his profession as a teacher. He lives with friends, and in order to eke out a living sometimes works as a watchman. 2.19 A.N. still has physical pain and psychological problems as a result of the torture to which he was subjected. He adds that a medical certificate issued on 12 November 2013 noted a “functional disability” of his forearm, with “chronic pain”; the certificate also noted psychological after-effects, which manifested themselves in nightmares and forgetfulness. 2 2.20 On 2 September 2013, the complainant once again filed a complaint, but no followup was given to it. Three years after the events, no inquiry and no investigative procedure had been carried out. Although they were identified, the presumed perpetrators were never questioned and no sanctions were taken against them. No medical examiner’s report was ever ordered. Consequently, the acts have gone unpunished. 2.21 In the light of the steps taken, the complainant maintains that he attempted to exhaust the available domestic remedies, but they proved to be objectively ineffective, biased and futile. Moreover, they have been unreasonably prolonged: it was necessary to wait more than nine weeks, or 63 days, after the acts were first reported in the pretrial court chamber for an investigation to be initiated. Further pursuit of his efforts would be dangerous for the complainant; the Muyinga deputy commissioner had already threatened the complainant, warning him that if he reported the ill-treatment he would be killed. The complaint 3.1 The complainant claims that Burundi has violated his rights under articles 2 (1), 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, read in conjunction with article 1 and, alternatively, with article 16 of the Convention against Torture. 3.2 The complainant claims to have been subjected to severe pain and suffering during extremely serious abuse inflicted by agents of the Burundian national police during his arrest and questioning at the Muyinga police station (see paras 2.4 ff., above). He was brutally beaten and subjected to a mock execution and death threats. Such acts were tantamount to torture, as they caused extreme anguish for the victim. State officials intentionally inflicted that suffering with the aim of obtaining a confession and intimidating the victim. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that A.N. was arrested because of his membership in the FNL political party, which was known to the authorities. 3.3 The complainant adds that the fact that he was deprived of the care that he required upon arrival at the Muyinga prison, along with his subsequent detention in deplorable conditions, resulted in a deterioration of his health, which must also be considered in the light of article 1 of the Convention. 3.4 In respect of article 2 (1) of the Convention, the complainant asserts that the State party has not taken effective measures to prevent acts of torture in its jurisdiction. A number of procedural guarantees that should be applicable for any deprivation of liberty 2 4 The certificate is in the case file. GE.17-09955