CAT/C/67/D/813/2017
25 June 1999. The complainant is represented by counsel, Wolfgang Kaleck, of the European
Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights.
1.2
On 17 May 2017, the State party requested that the admissibility of the complaint be
examined separately from the merits. On 6 March 2018, the Committee decided, in
accordance with rule 115, paragraph 3, of its rules of procedure, to examine the admissibility
of the complaint together with its merits.
The facts as submitted by the complainant
2.1
The complainant submits that he was detained in the military base of the United States
of America at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, between 15 February 2002 and 25 April 2005. The
complainant explains that during his detention he was subjected to various acts of torture and
ill-treatment, such as: physical violence, including beatings on his head with metal chairs,
against the back of his neck, and with sticks on his hands and feet, as well as having his head
banged against a wall and the floor; psychological abuse, such as death threats, humiliation,
and allegations about his sexual behaviour; sensory deprivation through blindfolding,
exposure to extreme temperatures, stress positions, exposure to loud music, and sleep
deprivation. The complainant explains that as a result of this situation, he suffered and
continues to suffer from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder as well as paranoia and other
psychotic symptoms.1
2.2
The complainant submits that the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay was intended
to be a facility beyond the reach of the law and that the detention programme was orchestrated
by senior United States government officials.
2.3
The complainant explains that during his detention at Guantanamo Bay he was held
without charge, he was never told why he was being detained, and he did not know when or
whether he would be released. He further explains that he was never medically examined
during the whole period of his detention and that the five letters he received from his family
had all been heavily censored.
2.4
The complainant submits that a Belgian Federal Police liaison officer named Luc
Clareboets came to see him at Guantanamo Bay on 16 and 17 April 2002.2 From April 2002
onwards, Mr. Clareboets, as well as national magistrate Hilde Van der Voorde, knew about
the complainant’s detention at Guantanamo Bay and participated in his interrogations.
2.5
The complainant submits that his lawyer contacted the Belgian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Belgian State Security Services repeatedly requesting information about the
circumstances of the complainant’s detention. The complainant’s lawyer also requested the
Belgian authorities to request the United States to transfer the complainant to Belgium, and
denounced the complainant’s lack of access to a lawyer and the impossibility for him to
contact his family.
2.6
On 3 December 2002, and on 16 and 19 February 2004, Mr. Clareboets interrogated
the complainant at Guantanamo Bay with the consent of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s
Office. The complainant submits that the Belgian authorities shared unverified incriminating
information about him with the United States authorities.3
2.7
The complainant submits that on 25 April 2005, he was finally released by the United
States authorities from the naval base at Guantanamo Bay and returned to Belgium. 4 Upon
his arrival, he was put under arrest and brought before an investigative judge, Daniel Fransen,
and was interrogated for the entire night by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office without being
informed about his rights. On 26 April 2005, Judge Fransen ordered his conditional release.
1
2
3
4
2
The complainant includes a psychiatric report by Dr. Audenart, dated 18 June 2010.
The complainant explains that on 7 February 2002 the Belgian Crown Prosecutor was informed by
the Belgian Federal Police Force that the complainant had been detained in Kandahar, Afghanistan,
under United States authority.
The complainant includes a letter from the Belgian State Security Services, dated 28 March 2003.
The complainant includes the agreement of release between the United States authorities and M.Z.,
dated 20 April 2005.