to prevent anyone, even lawyers, mentioning this topic, and the fear of being subjected again to torture, if the detainee dares raise this issue with the judge, acts as a strong deterrent in the intimidation process. 2.13The complainant was subsequently moved around repeatedly both within and between the country’s various penitentiary establishments. Thus, he was held in isolation with three political prisoners, Fethi Jebrane, Mohamed Charrada and Faouzi Sarraj, in the Borj Erroumi prison in Bizerte, from 1987 to 1992; from 1992 to 1993, he was transferred to a common criminals’ cell; from 1993 to 1994, he was held in solitary confinement in a small cell; and from 1994 to 1996 he was held together with two ENNAHDA officials - Habib Ellouz and Ajmi Lourimi - and then transferred to El Kef prison and to the central prison in Tunis, from 1996 to 1997. 2.14The complainant says that the living standards and the treatment meted out to prisoners by the prison authorities made his imprisonment an intolerable ordeal. He refers to the prison crowding, the dirty conditions, the contagious diseases and the lack of medical care. He claims that the punishment cells in which he was held in the Borj Erroumi prison were extremely cramped, dark, with no water or WC, and very damp; his rations were limited to one piece of bread a day and he was forced to wear dirty, fleainfested clothes. He maintains that the political prisoners were subjected to discriminatory treatment, as part of a general policy of physical and mental aggression. In support of this claim he explains that he was repeatedly barred from having contact with others and from engaging in joint prayers. He adds that he was deprived of medical care, despite repeated requests, threats to go on hunger strike and his refusal to take exercise in the prison yard. According to the complainant, his family visits were restricted to 10 minutes and the women visitors were forced to remove their veils. The complainant adds that, in punishment cell No. 2 at Borj Erroumi prison, he was stripped naked and tied hand and foot to a cot for three days on end. He says that he was then subjected to this punishment again for a period of six days, after requesting medical care for kidney pains. In addition, the warders punched, slapped and kicked him. According to the complainant, in February 1994, the prison director beat him viciously while he was on hunger strike and had been placed in shackles and, in the process, broke his right arm. When the complainant returned from hospital, the prison director ordered him to be returned to the punishment cells, where he was left shackled for eight days, naked and without blankets, thereby aggravating his kidney pains. In El Kef prison, where he spent 10 days in the punishment cells, he had a blanket only from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., despite the cold temperatures in the town, with the result that for the last three days he was unable to walk. Finally, a few days before his release, he was placed together with 24 other prisoners in Tunis central prison in a cell measuring only 3.5 metres by 2 metres. According to the complainant, with only one very small window high up on the cell wall, it was difficult to breathe, and the overcrowding was so bad that the detainees were unable even to sit. 2.15The complainant explains that, in a bid to lessen the torture against him, including solitary confinement for periods of between 3 days and one and a half months, he was forced on at least 15 occasions to mount hunger strikes, lasting for periods of between 5 and 28 days. 2.16On the day of his release, 24 July 1997, the complainant was escorted to the Bouchoucha detention centre, where he was questioned about his plans for the future as a militant and about his fellow detainees. According to the complainant, this questioning was followed by a session of mental harassment and threats. He says that he was released at 4 p.m. with instructions to report to the local police the moment he arrived in his home region of Gabès. There he was subjected to further questioning for a period of four hours. He was ordered to report twice a week to the regional police headquarters and daily at the local police station. According to the complainant, this administrative supervision was accompanied by police checks, including at night, of him and his family, the denial of his right to work and to study, refusal to issue a passport to his father and the confiscation of his brother’s passport. He was also required to obtain permission from the local police for any movement away from his place of residence, a requirement which was accompanied by further questioning about his relatives and people with whom he had contacts. The complainant adds that he was detained for 48 hours in November 1998, during President Ben Ali’s visit to Gabès governorate. He maintains that, whenever he had any contact with others living in the neighbourhood, both he and the people he met would be taken in for questioning. 2.17Given this situation, the complainant explains that he then fled Tunisia for Switzerland, where he obtained refugee status.c 2.18The complainant provides a list of people who subjected him to torture and ill treatment.d 2.19The complainant describes the consequences of the torture and ill-treatment that was inflicted on him, namely, an operation in 1988 to remove a fatty growth at the back of his head caused by violent blows administered under torture; scars of cigarette burns on his feet; kidney pains resulting from the detention conditions; and mental problems: he submits a medical certificate attesting to a neuropsychiatric disorder and showing that he has received medical treatment and psychotherapy at a Swiss psychiatric centre. 2.20As to whether all domestic remedies have been exhausted, the complainant argues that, while such remedies might be provided for in Tunisian law, they are impossible in practice because of the bias of judges and the impunity granted to those responsible for violations. He adds that the regulations governing the activities of bodies which play a role in upholding human rights, such as the Higher Committee for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Constitutional Council, prevent them from supporting complaints of torture. To back up his argument, he cites the reports of such non governmental organizations as Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch. Substance of the complaint 3.1The complainant maintains that the Tunisian Government has breached the following articles of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: Article 1. The practices described above, such as “falka”, the “roast chicken” position, the “upside-down” position, the “chair”, etc., to which the complainant was subjected, constitute acts of torture. Article 2, paragraph 1. It is alleged that the State party not only failed to take effective measures to prevent torture, but even mobilized its administrative machinery and, in particular, its police force as an instrument of torture against the complainant.