Communication No. 14/1994 Submitted by: B. M’B. [name deleted] Alleged victims: Faïsal Barakat and family State party: Tunisia Date of communication: 29 March 1994 The Committee against Torture, established under article 17 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Meeting on 5 May 1994, Adopts the following: Decision on admissibility 1. The author of the communication is B. M’B., a Tunisian national, currently residing in France with the status of political refugee. He submits the communication on behalf of the late Faïsal Barakat and his family. He claims that they are victims of violations by Tunisia of articles 2, paragraph 1, 11, 12, 13 and 14, of the Convention against Torture. The facts as submitted by the author: 2.1 The author states that the alleged victim, Faïsal Barakat, a university student in Tunisia, was arrested in the morning of 8 October 1991 by members of the Intelligence Brigade of the Nabeul National Guard. Upon his arrest, he was reportedly beaten and towards noon he was brought to the quarters of the Brigade where his "hands and feet were bound and he was suspended between two chairs on a big stick, with his head down and the soles of his feet and his buttocks showing, in which is commonly called the ’roast chicken’ position. The blows and screams continued from then until nightfall, when officers threw him out into the corridor after bringing another prisoner into the office. Faïsal Barakat was in a very bad condition and seemed to be dying. The officers nevertheless prohibited the 30 or so prisoners present, including his own brother, Jamel, from giving him assistance. One half hour later, he seemed to have died." 2.2 On 17 October 1991, the victim’s father was taken to Tunis by the Chief of the Traffic Police; he was informed that his son had died in a car accident. At the Charles Nicole Hospital, he was asked to identify his son among the many corpses in the mortuary. He noted that his son’s face was disfigured and difficult to recognize. He was not allowed to see the rest of the body. He was made to sign a statement in which he recognized that his son was killed in an accident; at that time, his other son Jamel was still in prison, allegedly as a hostage to prevent his father from denouncing the circumstances of Faïsal’s death. At the funeral, the police carried the coffin and supervised the ceremony; the coffin remained closed. 2.3 The author submits several medical reports, based on the official autopsy report, concluding that the victim died as a result of the torture described above. -69-