CAT/C/71/D/843/2017 party failed to take the measures, including the legislative measures, required under article 2 (1) of the Convention. 3.4 Invoking article 11 of the Convention and the Committee’s practice, the complainant submits that despite her critical state of health at the time of arrest, she did not receive appropriate medical care.16 She was arrested without being informed of the charges against her; she did not have effective remedies to take action against the acts of torture; and she was detained in deplorable conditions at the Mpimba prison, despite her critical state of health. 3.5 Furthermore, the complainant submits that, although they were informed of the torture to which she was subjected through a complaint lodged on 14 March 2014 and her reports of torture at the hearing of 25 April 2014, the Burundian authorities did not conduct a prompt and effective investigation into the allegations of torture, in violation of the obligation imposed by article 12 of the Convention. She also alleges that the State party did not respect her right to bring a complaint so as to have her allegations examined promptly and impartially, in violation of article 13 of the Convention. 3.6 By depriving the complainant of criminal proceedings, the State party has at the same time deprived her of any remedy to obtain compensation for such serious crimes as torture. Furthermore, she received no rehabilitation assistance of any kind to help her to recover as fully as possible physically or mentally, or in social and financial terms. In view of the passivity of the judicial authorities, other remedies to obtain redress, such as a civil suit for damages, are entirely unlikely to be successful. The Burundian authorities have taken few measures to compensate victims of torture, a point raised by the Committee in its concluding observations concerning the initial report of Burundi, in 2006.17 In 2014, while taking note of the fact that the new Code of Criminal Procedure provided for the compensation of victims of torture, the Committee expressed its concern about the failure to apply this provision, in violation of article 14 of the Convention.18 Lastly, in 2016 the Committee reiterated the State party’s obligation to ensure access to adequate reparation for victims of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.19 The Burundian authorities have thus failed to fulfil their obligations under article 14 of the Convention, as, on the one hand, the violations perpetrated against the complainant went unpunished owing to the passivity of the State, and, on the other hand, the complainant received no compensation and benefited from no rehabilitation measures. 3.7 The complainant repeats that the violent acts inflicted on her constitute torture, as defined in article 1 of the Convention. Should the Committee not agree to qualify it as such, she maintains that the abuse endured by her constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and on that basis, the State party also has an obligation, under article 16 of the Convention, to prevent public officials from committing, instigating or tolerating such acts and to punish them if they do. In addition, she recalls the conditions of detention that she had to endure in the National Intelligence Service cells and at the Mpimba central prison. The complainant refers again to the Committee’s concluding observations on the initial report of Burundi, in which it noted that conditions of detention in Burundi amount to inhuman and degrading treatment.20 Lastly, the complainant recalls that she received no medical treatment while in detention, despite her critical state of health, and she therefore concludes that the conditions of detention she experienced constitute a violation of article 16 of the Convention. 16 17 18 19 20 GE.21-13853 The Committee has repeatedly reiterated that States are obliged to comply with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, including in respect of the right to inform relatives and friends, the right to an attorney, the right to be examined by a doctor and the right to be notified of prisoners’ rights. CAT/C/BDI/CO/1, para. 23. CAT/C/BDI/CO/2, para. 18. CAT/C/BDI/CO/2/Add.1, para. 27 (d). CAT/C/BDI/CO/1, para. 17. See also CAT/C/BDI/CO/2, para. 15; and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “The international community should continue to help Burundi to implement its international human rights obligations”, press release, 28 May 2010. 5