E/CN.4/2001/66 page 49 203. Svetlyu Shishkov, his son Slaveiko and friends were allegedly ill-treated at a beach on the west shore of the Iskar reservoir on 8 August 1999 by a group of about 15 BOI officers. Although the assailants were reported to have driven to the beach from the nearby BOI base and assaulted the Shishkovs in front of dozens of witnesses, apparently on the instructions of a man staying at a private resort used by government ministers, for many months afterwards the investigating authorities were reportedly unable to confirm whether the assailants were indeed police officers. The Shishkovs were allegedly harassed and intimidated. BOI officers are said to have been identified as the alleged perpetrators of the assault. In July and August 2000 the Shishkovs attended an identity parade of some of the alleged assailants. By August 2000 some BOI officers were said to have been indicted. 204. Finally, the Special Rapporteur transmitted information regarding the deaths of two children at the Dzhurkovo home for mentally handicapped children, Luki municipality, which may have resulted from extreme neglect. Four-year-old Galya is reported to have been seriously ill with acute double bronchial pneumonia for two weeks prior to her death, yet the administrators of the State-run home did not refer her to a hospital. Thirteen-year-old Rosen Nanev is also reported to have died of bronchial pneumonia at the Fakiya home for severely mentally handicapped children in Burgas oblast. Dangerously low levels of food and other provisions are reported to occur where children’s homes are geographically isolated, such as at Dzhurkovo and Fakiya, or where the administrators of a home are insufficiently active in soliciting outside donations. 205. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned at the adoption in January 2000 of the Law on Drugs and Pharmacies, which is said to include a provision that allows drug experiments to be conducted on orphans if a court order for that purpose is obtained. While there is no evidence that any such court orders have yet been applied for, a case in which a psychologist conducted an experiment with a psychotropic drug on 15 children in the Maria Teresa orphanage in Stara Zagora in May 2000 highlighted the vulnerability of children in state orphanages to potentially dangerous exploitation. Three children were briefly hospitalized after taking “Rispolept”, a drug intended to control aggression in schizophrenics. The 15 children, who were not known to be schizophrenic, were asked to fill out a questionnaire by the psychologist, who appeared to be conducting research on behalf of a professor of the medical faculty of Thrace University. Prosecutors are believed to have commenced an investigation. 206. By letter dated 23 October 2000, the Special Rapporteur reminded the Government of a number of cases transmitted in 1996 and 1997 regarding which no reply had been received. Burkina Faso Urgent appeal 207. Le 17 avril 2000, le Rapporteur spécial a envoyé un appel urgent conjoint avec le Rapporteur spécial sur la liberté d’opinion et d’expression et le Président-Rapporteur du Groupe de travail sur la détention arbitraire en faveur de Halidou Ouédraogo, président du Collectif des organisations démocratiques de masse et de partis politiques, de l’Union interafricaine des droits