annulled the stay of proceedings, allowing them to continue, and called for an expert report to be prepared. Mrs. Blanco Abad did not appeal against the examination authorized; neither did she insist on other investigations. The medical examiner submitted his report on 22 November 1994. On 4 April 1995, Court N° 44 issued an order which gave a detailed account of the medical tests conducted and concluded with the decision to shelve the proceedings definitively. and while being held at the police stations. The Criminal Division, in view of the abundant and always detailed testimony offered not only by the accused but also by the witnesses called, acknowledges that this might have occurred. Hence its decision to take no account of the statements to the police, which are invalid.” 4.2 The author argued that the only evidence against her were the pleas entered by two codefendants, her husband, Mr. Josu Eguskiza, and Mr. Juan Ramón Rojo, which incriminated her, and that, notwithstanding the view of the National High Court, which found them valid, they were obtained by means of mistreatment and torture, and stemmed directly from the statements to the police that had been declared void. 3.4 The State party submitted that from 9 September 1994, when Mrs. Blanco Abad applied in writing for the stay to be revoked, up to the aforementioned order to shelve the case definitively, the record shows not a single written communication from Mrs. Blanco Abad calling for an investigation or presenting any evidence. 4.3 The author indicated that on 2 February 1992, she made a statement to the investigating magistrate without being able to consult a lawyer, not even the duty counsel, and that although the official record mentioned the lawyer designated by her, he was not able to attend until the accused’s statement had been finalized. The record showed that, responding to the first question put to her, she “neither said nor confirmed in her statement to the Guardia Civil”, that she belonged to or had collaborated with ETA. She also related that while on Guardia Civil premises she was mistreated. In particular, she said she had been struck with a telephone directory, had a bag put over her head and electrodes on her body, had been forced to undress and had been threatened with rape. She also claimed to have been forced to stand for long periods against a wall with her arms raised and legs apart while being struck from time to time about the head and genitals, and receiving all manner of insults. 3.5 On 19 April 1995, Mrs. Blanco Abad applied for reconsideration of the earlier decision to shelve the proceedings. On 19 May 1995 Court N° 44 turned the application down. On 5 September 1995 the Provincial High Court in Madrid also rejected the appeal. On 6 October 1995 Mrs. Blanco Abad applied for a remedy of amparo before the Constitutional Court, emphasizing the subjective evaluation of the medical examinations. The Constitutional Court considered the judicial decisions in question and pronounced them wellfounded, with reasoning that could “not be challenged as manifestly unreasonable or arbitrary”. 3.6 The State party pointed out that less than 15 months had elapsed between the reopening of the investigation and the Constitutional Court’s decision. The investigation had been reopened for six months, and during those six months Mrs. Blanco Abad neither took any action nor submitted anything at all in writing. The remaining nine months were taken up with the application for reconsideration, the appeal before the High Court and the amparo proceedings before the Constitutional Court. 4.4 The author submitted that the medical examinations she underwent while detained incommunicado were superficial checks, and that not even her vital signs were measured. There was no assessment of her nervous state, and she was not asked about the kind of threats and insults to which she had been subjected; the conclusion was that she bore no signs of violence. The doctor put in her report that the detainee reported not having slept, having been beaten, and having been forced to remain naked. Despite this, she concluded that the author was in a suitable physical and mental condition to make a statement. Only on 3 February 1992, in prison, the author said, was any medical evidence of maltreatment found on her person, when three bruises were discovered. In this connection, the author refers to a June 1994 report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture illustrating the superficiality of the reports drawn up by doctors attached to the National High Court. 3.7 For the above reasons, it was submitted that Mrs. Blanco Abad’s representations, over two years after the event, in investigations instituted in response to an official act, had been promptly and impartially examined. The State party therefore submits that no violation of article 13 of the Convention has occurred. Author’s comments 4.1 In her comments on the State party’s submission, the author stated that by decision of the National High Court dated 26 December 1995, she was sentenced to seven years’ ordinary imprisonment and a fine. The judgement observes: “The defence initially sought annulment and suspension of the judgement on the grounds of the torture undergone by the accused during detention 38