CCPR/C/112/D/2026/2011
2.7
Finally, the author argues that she is no longer able to seek any remedy before the
national authorities of the State party for fear of being subjected to criminal prosecution by
the Government. Ordinance No. 06-01 of 27 February 2006 implementing the Charter for
Peace and National Reconciliation provides not only that any action brought against
members of the defence and security forces of Algeria is to be declared inadmissible by the
competent judicial authority but also that any person lodging such a complaint is liable to
imprisonment and a fine.
2.8
In accordance with Ordinance No. 06-01 and for the purposes of seeking
compensation, the author requested the National Gendarmerie to produce a certificate
attesting to her husband’s disappearance. On 17 June 2006, the Gendarmerie issued a
certificate attesting to the fact that Rachid Sassene had died as a member of terrorist groups
on 18 May 1996, one day prior to the date of death recorded by the Criminal Investigation
Department in its official report of 11 March 2001. On 11 July 2006, the El-Ziada Division
of the Constantine Court of Justice ordered the registrar to register the death of Rachid
Sassene, as “considered to have died in Constantine in 1996”. On 9 September 2006, a
death certificate was issued pursuant to this decision. It reflects the same inaccuracy
concerning the date of Rachid Sassene’s death.
2.9
In 2001, through the National Association of Families of Missing Persons of
Constantine, the author approached the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances to request that it register the disappearance of her husband. 1
The complaint
3.1
The author considers her husband to be the victim of an act of enforced
disappearance that is attributable to the State party, as set out in article 2 of the International
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. According to
the author, Rachid Sassene is a victim of a violation of articles 2 (para. 3), 6 (para. 1), 7, 9,
10 (para. 1), 16 and 17, of the Covenant. She also considers herself and her family to be
victims of a violation of articles 2 (para. 3), 7 and 17, of the Covenant.
3.2
In the present case, the author emphasizes that her husband disappeared after being
arrested by the security forces on 18 May 1996 and while in the custody of the authorities
of the State party. The author draws attention to the blatant contradictions in the authorities’
statements concerning her husband’s fate, in particular the purported date of his death. The
author explains that, even though there is no physical evidence of her husband’s death,
there are strong grounds for believing that he died in custody while under the protection of
the authorities of the State party, which were required to take necessary measures to prevent
his disappearance and protect his life as a detainee under their responsibility. The State
party has therefore failed to fulfil its obligation to protect Rachid Sassene’s right to life,
which is guaranteed under article 6, paragraph 1, of the Covenant.
3.3
Referring to the Committee’s jurisprudence, 2 the author contends that the act of
enforced disappearance in itself constitutes a violation of article 7 of the Covenant, since
the fact that the victim was prevented from communicating with his family and the outside
world constitutes cruel and inhuman treatment. The author stresses that enforced
disappearance is a complex crime consisting of a wide range of human rights violations and
cannot be reduced solely to an act of incommunicado detention, as the Committee appears
1
2
4
See Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (A/HRC/10/9), p. 134,
which lists the author’s name among the cases registered by the Working Group under No. 10002090.
Communications No. 449/1991, Rafael Mojica v. Dominican Republic, Views adopted on 15 July
1994, para. 5.7; No. 540/1993, Laureano Atachahua v. Peru, Views adopted on 25 March 1996, para.
8.5; and No. 542/1993, N’Goya v. Zaire, Views adopted on 25 March 1996, para. 5.5.
GE.14-24387