8.6 On 15 October 1992 the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to Amnesty International stating that "with regard to the case of Faisal Baraket ... the reopening of which had been requested by the 'Driss Commission' and your own organization, the Tunisian authorities have forwarded to the Public Prosecutor attached to the Court of First Instance at Grombalia the medical report which you transmitted to the Government." The Public Prosecutor's Office ordered the case to be reopened on 22 September 1992. 8.7 Pursuant to the examining magistrate's decision to order a new expert medical opinion, three professors of forensic medicine including Dr. Ghachem were appointed to examine the content of the autopsy report and the conclusions put forward by Professor Pounder. Their report, a copy of which has been forwarded to the Committee, states that "the autopsy report fails to mention the presence of any traumatic lesion to the anus itself. Yet the forced introduction of a foreign body unavoidably leaves lesions in the area of the anus and sphincter. The autopsy report ... refers to the presence of superficial lesions and a visceral lesion. None of the lesions described in the report permits the cause of injury to be accurately determined. The description of the lesions is very vague and incomplete and does not help to determine their origin. The conclusions reached by Professor Pounder cannot therefore be substantiated since they are not based on objective facts, the lesions referred to in the report being of a very imprecise nature." Once again, the case was closed for lack of evidence. 8.8 Following the submission of communication No. 14/1994 to the Committee, the Public Prosecutor's Office attached to the Court of First Instance at Grombalia ordered the case to be reopened. The examining magistrate immediately proceeded to examine the persons named by the author. Mr. Hedi Baraket stated that he did not know the author, nor had he ever met him; he also denied the allegations contained in the communication. A deposition to this effect was signed by Mr. Hedi Baraket and forwarded to the Committee. Three so-called witnesses who, according to the author, were purportedly present at the death of Faisal Baraket have denied knowing either the author or the alleged victim, and they further deny having witnessed scenes of torture. A fourth individual stated that he was bribed by the author. In exchange for a sum of money, he agreed to make a tape recording of a text prepared by the author. Finally, the general superintendent at Nabeul Hospital stated that he had never gone to the police station to help the victim. The examining magistrate therefore decided that there were no grounds for pursuing the matter. 8.9 Faisal Baraket's relatives have never sued for damages in civil proceedings. For this reason, they have never contested the two decisions to close the case. Furthermore, article 5 of the Tunisian Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that the statutory time limit for criminal prosecution is 10 years from the date of commission of the offence charged. This period may be suspended or reset whenever a new inquiry is opened. Relatives are entitled to submit new material of any kind in order to persuade the Public Prosecutor's Office to reopen the judicial investigation. 8.10 The State party indicates that on 16 November and 10 December 1991 Faisal Baraket's parents filed separate applications with the Grombalia Public Prosecutor's Office challenging the arbitrary detention and disappearance of their son Jamel Baraket. Both of these applications were successful. Given that they were able to take such steps without incurring the reprisals predicted by the author, by the same token they were entirely at liberty to raise the matter of Faisal Baraket had they been convinced that he had been tortured to death. But no complaint of torture has ever been filed with the Tunisian courts. Criminal investigations to discover the truth in this matter have been initiated by the Public Prosecutor's Office. 8.11 The State party reports that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested the Ministry of Public Health to commission a second report from Professor Ghachem on the conclusions of his initial report. This second report, a copy of which has been sent to the Committee, states: 69